Linien (meaning "The Line") was an artists' association in Denmark in the 1930s and 1940s focusing on
Abstraction and
Symbolism
Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:
Arts
* Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism
** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
** Russian sym ...
. The group's exhibitions in Copenhagen created wide international participation. After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the association was revived as Linien II with an emphasis on
Concrete art Concrete art was an art movement with a strong emphasis on geometrical abstraction. The term was first formulated by Theo van Doesburg and was then used by him in 1930 to define the difference between his vision of art and that of other abstract art ...
.
Background
In the 1930s, art moved into a new phase experiments in the theoretical and intellectual use of shapes and symbols while at the same time a symbolism emerged from the world of dreams. This was the basis for
Concrete art Concrete art was an art movement with a strong emphasis on geometrical abstraction. The term was first formulated by Theo van Doesburg and was then used by him in 1930 to define the difference between his vision of art and that of other abstract art ...
and
Surrealism which became the latest trend in the international
Avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
movement. The association of Abstraction and Surrealism was pioneered by
Vilhelm Bjerke-Petersen
Vilhelm Bjerke-Petersen (December 24, 1909 - September 13, 1957) was a Danish painter, writer, and art theorist.
Life
Born in Copenhagen, he studied under Axel Revold at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts from 1927 to 1929, and then und ...
who in 1930 joined the
Bauhaus School
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 2009 ...
in
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
, a key Avant-garde institution which revolutionized not just painting but architecture, sculpture, literature, theatre and dance. Bauhaus is remembered for its influence on
Abstract art and
Functionalist architecture and design. At the Bauhaus, Bjerke Petersen had studied under
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
and
Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...
and was thus familiar with contemporary theories of abstract art. This led to the publication in 1933 of (Symbols in Abstract Art) which served as a manifesto for the movement in Denmark.
The association
In 1934, together with
Ejler Bille
Ejler Bille (6 March 1910 – 1 May 2004) was a Danish artist.
Biography
Ejler Bille was born in Odder, Denmark. He was the son of Torben Holger Bille and Anna Kirstine Lysabild Jensen. Bille graduated from Birkerød State School in 1930, and then ...
and
Richard Mortensen
Richard Mortensen (23 October 1910 – 6 January 1993) was a Danish painter.
Biography
Richard Strange Mortensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied between 1931 and 1932 at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen. Influenced by the ...
, Petersen founded Linien which covered both Abstraction and Symbolism. Together with its accompanying journal, also called , the movement was a forum for new, revolutionary art in Denmark providing a "line" through all fields of art and culture. The first issue of the journal, which was published in conjunction with the association's opening exhibition on
15 January 1934, presented the movement as a group of abstract-surrealist artists who would endeavor to provide support for innovative art. The first exhibition presented 177 works and was seen by 2,500 visitors.
["Linien"]
''KunstOnLine.dk''. Retrieved 1 June 2012.["Linien"]
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
In 1935, Vilhelm Bjerke-Petersen, who had become more interested in pure Surrealism, invited
Wilhelm Freddie
Wilhelm Freddie, born Christian Frederik Wilhelm Carlsen (7 February 1909 – 26 October 1995) was a Danish painter, sculptor and filmmaker. Initially working along a somewhat abstract line, he soon turned towards a more realistic surrealism, on ...
and
Harry Carlsson to participate in the large international exhibition on
Cubism and Surrealism instead of Bille and Mortensen. The exhibition is considered to be one of the most important in Denmark, bringing together
Erik Olson,
Jean Arp,
Max Ernst
Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...
,
Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...
,
Joan Miró,
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...
and
Yves Tanguy
Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 – January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (, ), was a French surrealist painter.
Biography
Tanguy, the son of a retired navy captain, was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...
. Bille and Mortensen terminated their collaboration with Petersen and in 1937 put on a kind of repeat international exhibition of Cubism-Surrealism with Abstract and Constructive artists including
Theo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg (, 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch artist, who practiced painting, writing, poetry and architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl. He was married to artist, pianist and choreographer Nell ...
,
Piet Mondrian,
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
and
Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Sophie Henriette Gertrud Taeuber-Arp (; 19 January 1889 – 13 January 1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer.
Born in 1889 in Davos, and raised in Trogen, Switzerlan ...
together with the Surrealists
Max Ernst
Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...
,
Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...
,
Joan Miró and
Yves Tanguy
Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy (January 5, 1900 – January 15, 1955), known as just Yves Tanguy (, ), was a French surrealist painter.
Biography
Tanguy, the son of a retired navy captain, was born January 5, 1900, at the Ministry of Naval Aff ...
and a considerable number of Danish artists. Linien's last exhibition was held in 1939 with the participation of Mortensen, Bille,
Egill Jacobsen and the sculptor
Sonja Ferlov.
[
]
Follow-up
In 1947, a number of artists including Ib Geertsen
Ib Geertsen (7 January 1919 – 3 June 2009) was a Danish painter and sculptor. He began as a Naturalist but later turned to Concrete art.
Biography
Born in Copenhagen, Geertsen first trained as a gardener (1934–39) before concentrating on art ...
, Bamse Kragh-Jacobsen, Niels Macholm, Albert Mertz and Richard Winther created Linien II with an exhibition in Tokanten's gallery in Copenhagen. Other members of the group included Vilhelm Bjerke Petersen, Richard Mortensen, Sonja Ferlov Mancoba, Robert Jacobsen, Paul Gadegaard, Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen (14 July 1919 – 29 June 1982) was a Danish sculptor, painter, designer and architect whose work belongs to the Concrete art movement.
Early life and education
Born in Ordrup to the north of Copenhagen, Aagaard Andersen a ...
, Henrik Buch, Helge Jacobsen, Søren Georg Jensen and Knud Nielsen. An exhibition the following year presented Constructive works, providing support for Concretism in Denmark. In 1950, Linien II held Denmark's largest exhibition of Concrete art with wide international participation including works by Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
, Fernand Léger, Jean Arp, Le Corbusier, Auguste Herbin
Auguste Herbin (29 April 1882 – 31 January 1960) was a French painter of modern art. He is best known for his Cubist and abstract paintings consisting of colorful geometric figures. He co-founded the groups Abstraction-Création and Salon des ...
, Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and hi ...
, Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement.
His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consid ...
, Alberto Magnelli
Alberto Magnelli (1 July 1888 – 20 April 1971) was an Italian modern painter who was a significant figure in the post war Concrete art movement.
Biography
Magnelli was born in Florence on July 1, 1888. In 1907 he started painting and, d ...
and Jean Dewasne
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jea ...
. The event led to the withdrawal of the French as well as Mortensen and Jacobsen who did not take part in the last two exhibitions held in 1951 and 1952. These did however attract a considerable number of American artists including Josef Albers
Josef Albers (; ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College ...
. Although Linien II was dissolved in 1952, two further exhibitions were held: (Linien 3, Concrete Realism) in 1956 and (Linien Again) in 1958. They presented works by more recent Concrete artists including Ole Schwalbe, Jørn Larsen
Jørn Larsen (15 December 1926 – 13 June 2004) was a Danish painter and sculptor. He was a member of ''Grønningen'' from 1970 and received the Eckersberg Medal in 1978 and the Thorvaldsen Medal in 1989. He represented Denmark at the Venice Bie ...
and Mogens Lohmann.
["Linien II"]
''KunstOnLine''. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
References
Bibliography
*Bjerke Petersen, Vilhelm: ''Symboler i abstrakt kunst'', republished 1974, Silkeborg Kunstmuseum, 86 pp with illustrations.
{{Authority control (arts)
Danish artist groups and collectives
Modern art
1934 establishments in Denmark
Organizations disestablished in 1939