”This exhibition on German Expressionism, staged at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, offers an overview of a chapter in the history of European art that was not only important in this time, but fundamental to the development of the visual arts today.
Artists of the previous century had explored forms of pictorial expression based on sensory impressions. They sought a plein air effect, deliberately straying from the established canons in search of nature, in which the person was laid bare and hence utterly essential. The Expressionists went far beyond this lingering romantic vision, their gaze penetrating to the core of contemporary society. The essence of man was no longer to be found in his environment, but in his interior mechanisms, his inward gaze in search of the intimate liberty and freedom within his being.
The Expressionist aesthetic centered on a lively form of visual gesture that was echoed in the literature of the period. This is why Expressionism is of such topical interest today – it was not just a chapter in the history of art, but, more importantly, it was a vital part of the society that produced it.
The Palazzo Grassi exhibition testifies to the extent to which the Expressionists were vitally in touch with their epoch, with the civilization around them – as much with art as with the breakthroughs in science and burgeoning new horizons, new worlds.
In this sense, this particular movement is in tune with Galileo’s idea of our existence as an expression of striving for a new world.” –
Feliciano Benvenuti
