Lyonel Feininger

An American artist of German descent, outstanding graphic artist and cartoonist, photographer, talented teacher.
He was born into a family of musicians from Germany. From an early age, he demonstrated musical abilities; his parents saw him as a successful musician. After the family moved to Germany in 1887, Lyonel preferred fine art to music. He attended an art school in Hamburg; in 1889-1892 he was a student at the Art Academy in Berlin. In his student years, the artist began collaborating with the magazine “Humorous Pages”, where he published his caricatures.

Lyonel Feininger became famous in the United States as the author of witty caricatures and funny comics that were published in weekly magazines; although, he gained true recognition in his historical homeland – in Germany, where his most fruitful years passed. Feininger closely collaborated with the members of the Munich association “Blue Rider” and actively participated in joint exhibitions of Expressionists. He was one of the founders of the group “Four Blues”, which, unfortunately, lasted a very short time. The artist’s life is connected with the Weimar “Bauhaus”: there he taught engraving and painting, illustrated didactic publications and designed the art gallery of the institution. The work of the artist is marked by his own bright style, based on a mixture of Cubism, Futurism and Expressionism with a touch of romance in the stories and images.

Key ideas:

– The art of Lyonel Feininger is distinguished by a special color harmony and grace of forms. Being a talented musician, he managed to transfer to the canvas the subtlest shades of color, which overflowing and playing on numerous surfaces create a special sound for each painting of the master. Following the traditions of Cubism, Futurism and Expressionism, the artist sought to capture in his canvases life in all its versatility, relentless movement and the pursuit of beauty.
– In the paintings and graphics of Feininger, there are architectural motifs depicting fictional streets and congestions of pointed houses, often skyscrapers, as well as seascapes with lonely ships and sailboats on the horizon. In his paintings, the artist created his own fantasy world, where figures seem to dissolve in space, and the translucent intersecting planes only hint at the rays of light and fragile shapes. With the help of these techniques, the artist managed to achieve an amazing effect of movement. This is particularly evident in the picture “Steamer One” (19270, where it seems that the huge ship is slowly approaching the shore from the otherworldly spaces and in the canvas “Bicycle race” (1912), in which the impetuosity of the movement is seen.
– An important role in the artist’s works is played by the interaction of color and line. Feininger was an unsurpassed master of color harmony who could subtly feel the slightest nuances and transitions of shades. In his paintings, color plays the main role, creating a volume of objects and the depth of space, while a line just highlights the direction, enhances the effect and impression of the canvas.
– Many works of the master, which can be attributed to the Cubist, are filled with a special romance and lyricism, despite the strict geometry of the shapes. They are imbued with a sense of unreality and make the viewer plunge into a wonderful kaleidoscope of flickering colors and shaky shapes.