While I have always liked what I have seen of German Expressionism, I really know very little about it beyond Max Ernst, and even he is a bit vague in my head. No more, after my recent trip to the Rhine region of Germany. While Bonn is not hailed as a tourist destination, I would argue that there is a lot to be seen there, and this museum, in the house where August Macke lived with his wife and children, is a good example of what not to miss.
Macke was a vocal supporter of German Expressionism, which is a parallel but later movement linked with French Impressionism.
This painting of asparagus from the early 1900's is very reminiscent of Manet's painting of asparagus twenty years earlier. The richness of texture is similar, and the color is vibrating off of Macke's work in other paintings, only increasing in intensity as he moved forward as a painter. Sadly, his life ended quite abruptly on a battlefield in France in September of 1914, just a few months into the war when he was 27 years old. Fortunately for us, his wife took care to preserve his legacy, both as an artist and as a supporter of a movement, so we can look back on it today.
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