Expressionismos

The notion that all the significant achievements of German Expressionism occurred before 1914 is a familiar one. Until recently most scholars and almost all exhibitions of German Expressionist work have drawn the line with the 1913 dissolution of Die Briicke (The Bridge) in Berlin or the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 (...)

Left: Otto Griebel (German, 1895-1972), The Ship's Stoker (Der Schiffsheizer), 1920 (detail).
Right: Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969), Farewell To Hamburg (Abschied von Hamburg), 1921 (detail).

Peter Selz's pioneering study German Expressionist Painting, published in 1957, favored 1914 as a terminus as did Wolf-Dieter Dube's Expressionism (...)

Otto Griebel

After serving an apprenticeship as a house painter, he went on to the Kunstgewerbeschule in Dresden and began to produce his first paintings. From 1915 to 1918 he was a soldier and returned to become a member of Robert Sterl's master class (...)

His first group show was at the Galerie Emil Richter in 1919. (1)

The shirtless sailor tells a story through his tattoos. We can see (a six pointed nautical star (the polar star), meaning guidance on his right shoulder, and) the Star of David on his right shoulder and left wrist. There are also tattoos of a sailor, a nude woman, a hot air balloon, a serpent, a bottle, a helm, an Indian chief… even the painter’s autograph.

Otto Griebel (German, 1895-1972)
Der Schiffsheizer (The Ship's Stoker), 1920
Private collection

On the sailor’s chest is the image of two interlocked men wrestling, one is holding the American flag, while the other one is holding the Pan-Slavic flag. The tattoo reveals the political leanings of the sailor, but it’s also ominous in predicting the Cold War that would ensue three decades later.

Slightly frowning with a contemplative pose while smoking a pipe, the stoker is looking away from yet another place that he leaves. The woman in the distance is a reminder that there’s a girl waiting for him in every port, a small comfort in the harsh reality of his days.

Griebel was a protagonist of Dada and New Objectivity movement.

In 1933, after Hitler came to power, he was arrested and interrogated by Gestapo. His work was banned as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis. (2)

Otto Dix

In the summer of 1921, Otto Dix visited the port city of Hamburg on the North Sea.

As he walked along the waterfront, he saw sailors on leave as they searched for pleasure on land. Along the red light district, Dix found brothels and prostitutes in abundance. It was a scene that may have helped reinforce earlier prejudices.

Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969)
Farewell To Hamburg (Abschied von Hamburg), 1921
Museum Gunzenhauser

During the war, Dix often held sailors in contempt. The High Seas Fleet was in harbor for much of the conflict. From the artist's perspective, its sailors were chasing prostitutes and drinking gratuitous amounts of alcohol while the Wehrmacht bore the brunt the war's burden.

Dix's interpretation of a sailor's life as a string of exotic encounters has been described by Ashley Bassie in Expressionism as "intentionally kitch." A sailor's longings last as long as the time between ports of call. (3)


(1) German expressionism 1915-1925 : the second generation
(2) Degenerate Art
(3) The Online Otto Dix Project