Karl Ernst Osthaus: The Folkwang Museum and the dissemination of international modernism.
Item
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Title
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Karl Ernst Osthaus: The Folkwang Museum and the dissemination of international modernism.
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Identifier
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AAI9405588
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identifier
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9405588
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Creator
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Stonge, Carmen Luise.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Rose-Carol Washton Long
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Date
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1993
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art History | Architecture
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Abstract
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This study examines the Folkwang Museum, and Karl Ernst Osthaus (1874-1921), its founder, owner and director. Osthaus was a major patron of the arts in the first quarter of the twentieth century, and his museum in Hagen, Germany, was a vehicle for the dissemination of international modernism in Germany. It begins with the period shortly before the turn of the century, when old and new attitudes interacted with a society of enormous complexity, and fused together during a time of transition and changes in Wilhelmine Germany. An overview of Osthaus examines his origins, his plans to build a museum in Hagen, and some of the relevant artistic developments in Germany which influenced and shaped Osthaus's ideology towards art and culture. The study traces the Folkwang Museum's evolution and intertwines it with Osthaus and the Belgian artist, architect, and interior designer, Henry van de Velde (1863-1957), addressing the important, interconnected alliance that Osthaus and Van de Velde formed while working together on the museum, and the revolutionary effect that their combined efforts had on the arts in Germany. In addition, there is an analysis of Osthaus's relationship to artists, both foreign and native, that exhibited in the Folkwang, and the astonishing array of acquisitions that the museum obtained at a time when other museums were still acquiring Old Master works and ignoring the young, then unknown masters of modern art. An important issue that is discussed is Osthaus's promotion of women artists, and his sustained support and exhibition of their work over many years. Additional information details how international modernism and Expressionism simultaneously struggled for acceptance in Germany with the formation and success of the Sonderbund Association in the industrialized Ruhr and Rheinland regions, exhibitions that presented the latest trends in both native and foreign contemporary art. Osthaus was one of the driving forces behind these exhibitions which promoted international modernism. By examining the intersection between German modernism and international modernism, this study demonstrates that Osthaus and the Folkwang were both active catalysts in the promotion and acceptance of international modernism and Expressionism in Germany before the First War.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
