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 sy ...

. 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 opposin ...

, the association was revived as Linien II with an emphasis on Concrete 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 and

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

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 ...

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 Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

and Functionalist architecture and design. At the Bauhaus, Bjerke Petersen had studied under Wassily Kandinsky 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 wi ...

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 and Richard Mortensen, 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 and Harry Carlsson to participate in the large international exhibition on

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

and Surrealism instead of Bille and Mortensen. The exhibition is considered to be one of the most important in Denmark, bringing together

Erik Olson Erik Artur Olson (Ohlson, Olsson) (Halmstad 9 May 1901 – 1986) was a Swedish painter, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, theater decorator, and member of Halmstadgruppen. He was the brother of artist Axel Olson, and in 1929 married ...

Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born in Straßburg (now Stras ...

, Max Ernst,

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

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 Affa ...

. 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,

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

, Wassily Kandinsky and Sophie Taeuber-Arp together with the Surrealists Max Ernst,

and

and a considerable number of Danish artists. Linien's last exhibition was held in 1939 with the participation of Mortensen, Bille,

Egill Jacobsen Egill Jacobsen (16 December 1910 – 21 April 1998) was a Danish painter who became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy. Biography Born in Copenhagen, Jacobsen studied painting at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Kræsten Iversen ...

and the sculptor Sonja Ferlov.

Follow-up

In 1947, a number of artists including Ib Geertsen,

Bamse Kragh-Jacobsen ''Bamse – Världens starkaste björn'' () is a Swedish cartoon created by Rune Andréasson. The highly popular children's cartoon first emerged as a series of television short films as well as a weekly half-page Sunday strip in 1966, before ...

Niels Macholm Niels Macholm (26 August 1915 – 5 November 1997) was a self-taught Danish artist. He had his debut at Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling in 1944 and received the Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or ...

Albert Mertz Albert Axel Tonndorff Mertz (31 January 1920 – 30 December 1990) was a Danish painter. He was one of the leading artists in the Linien II artists association, working in a Constructivist style in a limited number of strong colours. Biography ...

and

Richard Winther Richard Ludvig Philip Weibull Winther (23 July 1926, Maribo, Denmark–30 August 2007, Vindeby, Denmark) was a Danish artist. His career focused mainly on painting, graphics, photography and sculpture. Richard's work was greatly influenced by Asg ...

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 Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen (4 June 1912 – 26 January 1993) was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert Award is named in his honor. Biography Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen. He was self-taught as a sculptor. During World War I, ...

, 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 at ...

, Henrik Buch, Helge Jacobsen,

Søren Georg Jensen Søren Georg Jensen (4 October 1917 – 20 September 1982) was a Danish silversmith and sculptor. Son of the noted silversmith Georg Jensen, he was the artistic director of the Georg Jensen Silversmithy from 1962 to 1974. Early life and education ...

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,

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

, Auguste Herbin, Alexander Calder,

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 consi ...

, Alberto Magnelli and Jean Dewasne. 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. 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 Ole Albert Christian Schwalbe (23 July 1929 – 15 October 1990) was a Danish painter. He was one of the painters in the Linien artists association who in 1956 initiated the second generation of Danish Constructivism which they called concrete rea ...

, Jørn Larsen 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