
The Inspirational Genius of Germany
British Art and Germanism, 1850-1939
Matthew Potter(Author)
Manchester University Press
Published on 30. May 2012
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-7190-8712-7 (ISBN)
Description
The inspirational genius of Germany explores the neglected issue of the cultural influence of Germany upon Britain between 1850 and 1939. While the impact on Britain of German Romanticism has been extensively mapped, the reception of the more ideologically problematic German culture of the later period has been neither fully explained or explored. After the 1848 revolutions, Germany experienced a period of political and economic growth which not only saw it achieving Unification in 1871 but also challenging the industrial and imperial supremacy of Britain at the dawn of the twentieth century.
Matthew Potter uses images, art criticism, and the public writings and private notes of artists to reconstruct the intellectual history of Germanism during a period of heightened nationalism and political competition. Key case studies explore the changing shape of intellectual engagements with Germany. It examines the German experts who worked on the margins of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, the engagements of Victorian 'academics' including Frederic Leighton, G.F. Watts, Walter Crane and Hubert Herkomer as well as avant-gardists like the Vorticists, the reception of Arnold Boecklin and Wassily Kandinsky by the Britons during the dawn of modern art, and the last gasp of enthusiasm for German art that took place in defiance of the rise of Nazism in the 1930s. -- .
Matthew Potter uses images, art criticism, and the public writings and private notes of artists to reconstruct the intellectual history of Germanism during a period of heightened nationalism and political competition. Key case studies explore the changing shape of intellectual engagements with Germany. It examines the German experts who worked on the margins of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, the engagements of Victorian 'academics' including Frederic Leighton, G.F. Watts, Walter Crane and Hubert Herkomer as well as avant-gardists like the Vorticists, the reception of Arnold Boecklin and Wassily Kandinsky by the Britons during the dawn of modern art, and the last gasp of enthusiasm for German art that took place in defiance of the rise of Nazism in the 1930s. -- .
Reviews / Votes
Potter has succeeded admirably in his stated aim: 'to bring to light the true importance of an international tradition that has been neglected in British art history for reasons of historiography and politics'. This is a vibrant and engrossing work. -- .More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Illustrations, black & white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-7190-8712-7 (9780719087127)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Matthew C. Potter is Professor of Art and Design History at the University of Northumbria -- .
Content
1. A new kind of Germanism: British artistic interest in Germany after Romanticism
2. Pre-Raphaelite Germanism: Ford Madox Brown and his circle
3. The twilight of the Nazarenes: Joseph Beavington Atkinson and British art-critical responses to Germany, 1850-86
4. Lord Leighton: made in Germany?
5. Blutgefuehl and Bildung: Hubert Herkomer, Knight of Bavaria and the British empire
6. Germanist Symbolism in Britain: G.F. Watts, Walter Crane and the reception of Arnold Boecklin
7. Germanism repackaged: Kandinsky, Vorticism and the woodcut, 1909-18
8. Art and Germanism in the shadow of the First World War, 1918-39 -- .
2. Pre-Raphaelite Germanism: Ford Madox Brown and his circle
3. The twilight of the Nazarenes: Joseph Beavington Atkinson and British art-critical responses to Germany, 1850-86
4. Lord Leighton: made in Germany?
5. Blutgefuehl and Bildung: Hubert Herkomer, Knight of Bavaria and the British empire
6. Germanist Symbolism in Britain: G.F. Watts, Walter Crane and the reception of Arnold Boecklin
7. Germanism repackaged: Kandinsky, Vorticism and the woodcut, 1909-18
8. Art and Germanism in the shadow of the First World War, 1918-39 -- .