New Objectivity

New Objectivity was a German art movement of the 1920s that depicted contemporary society through sharply observed realism and cool detachment.

Weimar Republic: The German republic established in 1919 and ended by the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. Its political instability and urban change supplied much of the movement’s subject matter.
Verism: A New Objectivity tendency that rendered social subjects with biting precision and critical emphasis. Its unsparing portraits and social critique define one pole of the movement.
Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub: A German art historian and museum director who coined the term Neue Sachlichkeit for a 1925 exhibition. His exhibition gave the movement its name and brought its artists together.
Neue Sachlichkeit exhibition: A 1925 exhibition at the Kunsthalle Mannheim that presented contemporary German realist art under a new label. This exhibition established New Objectivity as a named movement.
Expressionism: An art movement that distorted forms and colors to express inner experience and emotion. New Objectivity emerged partly as a reaction against Expressionism’s subjective intensity.
Magic realism: A style that depicts recognizable reality with an uncanny stillness or subtly estranging quality. It names the cooler, more enigmatic tendency associated with several New Objectivity painters.
Otto Dix: A German painter and printmaker known for unsparing depictions of war, urban life, and social inequality. His sharp portraits and postwar scenes exemplify New Objectivity’s critical verism.
The Skat Players: Otto Dix’s 1920 painting of war veterans playing cards, many visibly disfigured by their injuries. Its blunt depiction of wounded veterans makes the war’s bodily aftermath impossible to overlook.
World War I: A global war fought from 1914 to 1918, ending in Germany’s defeat and political upheaval. The war’s aftermath shaped the movement’s skepticism and attention to damaged society.
Portrait painting: The depiction of an individual or group, emphasizing appearance, identity, or character. Artists used exacting portraits to expose social roles and personal unease.

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