Magic Realism: Art in Weimar Germany 1919–33

by Matthew Gale (Editor), Katy Wan (Editor)

This elegant publication reveals a vibrant and under-explored seam of modernist painting in Germany and Austria during the Weimar era. Although “magic realism” is a term today more commonly associated with the 20th-century literature of Latin America, it was first coined in 1925 by the German art historian and critic Franz Roh to describe an emerging style of modern realist paintings with fantasy or dreamlike subjects, and is often seen as parallel to or overlapping with the New Objectivity movement. Published to accompany a major display at Tate Modern in London, Magic Realism draws upon the remarkable assembly of German and Austrian paintings in the George Economou Collection and features rarely seen work by Otto Dix, George Grosz, Christian Schad, and Jeanne Mammen among many others.

Genres: Art

96 pages, Hardcover

Published September 25, 2018

Reviews

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of art from German during the period between WWI and Hitler becoming chancellor.

Some of the pieces were very striking, for example ‘Lady with Red Scarf’, but some of the artworks were a bit too bizarre for me.

[Jeff Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Magic Realism: Art in Weimar Germany’ can be seen as a companion exhibition to ‘Aftermath’ at Tate Britain from earlier in the year. It was a free exhibition but there was a lot to like, and fed my interest in all things related to the culture of the Weimar Republic.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intellectual flatulence coming from some self-important bureaucrats. Maybe they know the era, but they trip on their own wordy shoelaces.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! A splendid and beautiful book.