The word “good” in references to art is commonly associated with quality. However, the interpretation of “good” and consequently “bad” art under the third reich had nothing to do with quality, but rather with subject matter. That is not to say that the paintings and sculptures embraced by the Third Reich were not impressive or of high quality by traditional standards. Rather, the emphasis was not put on characteristics like stroke length and spatial usage, but instead, the content of the art was emphasized. To Hitler art was good if it stressed the longevity and virtuosity of traditional German life, particularly focusing on the penchant for basic agrarian labor as a primary tenant of the ideal human. Picturesque scenes of men tilling their fields or of women tending to a garden were considered examples of “good art” not because the paintings were unique or impressive, but because they embraced the view of Germany’s history that the Fuehrer dictated.
Similarly, the party leaders placed an emphasis on the grandeur of antiquity. Whether it was the perfect body structures of ancient Greek and Roman statues or the enormous columns of the Parthenon or the Circus Maximus the grandeur of this time period and its art and architecture appealed to Hitler in a utopian sense. In the art of antiquity Hitler recognized the lasting influence of these cultures on the world. He craved such a lasting influence, and saw the means to achieve such permanence by emulating the art forms of what he deemed to be the two most pure societies ever to walk the earth (prior to the Germans).
Furthermore, he demanded that art imitate life, not mutilate it as he accused modern art of doing. Hitler’s concept of humanity was perfection, and any deviation from such perfection was wrong and inherently not pure. While we today recognize the emotionally charged creations of Picasso to be masterpieces, to Hitler they were nothing more than the corruption of the human image. Such art needed to be destroyed not praised.
A shift from the beauty of real life (or rather the Nazi’s skewed view of it) made a piece of art “bad.” Art was “good” if it embraced traditional Germany or antiquity and praised the essence of Hitler’s ideal humanity and its physical and emotional flawlessness.
No comments:
Post a Comment