South African artists influenced by African and indigenous art forms - Irma Stern Flashcards
What year was Irma Stern born in?
1894
What year did Irma Stern die in?
1966
What heritage was Irma Stern from?
She was of German-Jewish decent but born in Schweizer-Reinecke in the Western Transvaal.
When did Irma Stern move to Germany?
1913
Why did Irma Stern move to Germany?
To study art.
When did Irma Stern return to SA?
1920.
Why did Irma Stern stay in Germany for so long?
She got caught in Germany during WW1 and was unable to get out of Germany until the war ended.
What were Irma Stern’s main influences?
German expressionism, particularly Max Pechstein and the indigenous people of Africa.
What did Irma Stern love about Africa?
The people in their colourful gear, the barbaric landscape, the tropical plants, the abundance of fruit and flowers, and above all, the sun.
What media did Irma Stern prefer?
Oil paint
What subject matter did Irma Stern prefer?
Mainly portraits and figure studies as well as a few landscapes and still lives.
What themes recur throughout Irma Stern’s body of work?
Fertility, women, rituals like marriage, mother and child, harvest and harvesters.
What was Irma Stern’s artwork mainly concerned with?
People and the love for the exotic surroundings she experienced in her travels.
Why did Irma Stern paint?
Painting was an inner necessity for her and she showed this through the strong expressionism of her feelings on her subjects.
What did Irma Stern try to capture in her paintings?
She tried to capture the essence of a subject and detail was of lesser importance.
What was Irma Stern’s style?
Quick, spontaneous and direct paintings.
How does Irma Stern use brushwork in her artworks?
She uses loose expressionistic brushstrokes. Initially she worked in a strong impasto but towards the end of her life the application became thinner.
How does Irma Stern use colour in her artworks?
Colour is the main element of her work and she uses strong expressionist colour to portray her feelings.
Why is Irma Stern considered an important pioneer?
She brought SA in line with modernism through her personal subjective expressionism. She was one of the first to portray Africa.
How was Irma Stern’s work met by the public at first?
It was met with hostility because the South African public was used to naturalistic portrayals.
What type of viewpoint did Irma Stern have of Africa?
It was still a colonial viewpoint.
What did Irma stern love about Africa as a subject?
It’s exotic strangeness.
What issues did Irma Stern fail to show in her artwork?
Poverty or other social issues.
How did Irma Stern portray African life in her paintings.
She romanticised life in Africa while ignoring all the suffering brought by colonialism.
When did Irma Stern paint “Pondo Woman”?
1929
What medium did Irma Stern use for “Pondo Woman”?
Oil on canvas
What style of work is “Pondo Woman” painted in?
Expressionistic
What technique did Irma Stern use in “Pondo Woman”?
Strong brushwork with rich colours.
Describe the subject of Irma Stern’s “Pondo Woman”.
A portrait of an indigenous woman as she pensively sits and thinks in her traditional dress. She is not an individual but a type of woman.
What effect does the downward gaze of the woman in “Pondo Woman” create?
Looking down creates a barrier between the woman and the viewer which obscures her personality and contributes to the stereotypical rendition of the woman.
Where is the subject placed in “Pondo Woman”?
The subject is placed centrally similar to traditional Western portraiture.
What shows the influence of German expressionism in “Pondo Woman”?
It is shown in the combination of the nude figure and the lush landscape.
Was Irma Stern like Picasso?
No, she was not like a Picasso stylistically influenced by Africa but she used it as source material.
Why do some critics refer to Irma Stern’s work as racist?
She showed indigenous people as types, example: the almond eyes, and not as individuals.
Why is Irma Stern an influential artist despite her use of racist stereotypes in her art?
She had phenomenal skill as a painter and she united the two worlds of Europe and Africa in her works.
How does Irma Stern differ from Gauguin?
Unlike Gauguin she did not totally identify with the indigenous lifestyle, but kept her European colonial outlook to Africa without making an attempt to penetrate the spiritual psyches of the African people.
How does the woman in Irma Stern’s “Pondo Woman” dominate the composition?
She enhanced the view of beauty of this traditional Pondo woman through the expressive exaggeration of her eyes, nose, mouth and the shape of her face which contrasts with the dark, jungle like background.
Why did the public at the time of painting react so strongly and negatively to “Pondo Woman”?
Mainly the allegation that she simply could not draw, e.g. the inaccurate anatomy of the hands. The strong colours also offended the public with their harshness.
How was colour used in “Pondo Woman” to portray Irma Stern’s feelings?
Warm reds, yellows and browns contrast with the cooler background colours. The colour evokes emotions rather than describing objects.
What is the canvas of “Pondo Woman” crowded with and why?
Little open spaces for the viewer to escape in.
What style was “Pondo Woman” painted in?
A simplified, expressionistic style with the emphasis on brushstrokes and emotional colours. Strongly defined darker outlines and loose brushstrokes are clearly visible.
When did Irma Stern paint “The Hunt”?
1926
What medium did Irma Stern use for “The Hunt”
Oil on canvas
What style of work was “The Hunt” painted in?
Expressionistic
What technique did Irma Stern use in “The Hunt”?
She applied the oil paint with a brush or knife (impasto - thickly applied paint).
What is the meaning behind “The Hunt”?
There is no real meaning, it simply shows her fascination and love for Africa.
What did Irma Stern fail to consider about the subjects of “The Hunt”?
The social, political and economic implications of their situation in life.
What image does Irma Stern create in “The Hunt” and how does she achieve this?
Details are exaggerated and stylised to create an ideal image of a “noble savage” according to the colonial view of her time.
What does the distortion of “The Hunt” achieve?
The distortion resembles the angularity found in African sculpture and masks.
Describe the composition of “The Hunt”.
The composition is busy and almost bursting at the edges of the frame.
What feeling does the busy composition of “The Hunt” create?
A feeling of activity is created by lots of angular lines intersecting with each other. It creates a feeling of movement.
Describe the perspective of “The Hunt”
Although there is a feeling of depth in the painting, perspective is distorted as there is little difference between foreground and background.
Describe the use of colour in “The Hunt”.
The colours don’t become less vibrant in the background. Figures are outlined in a blue-black colour as the post-impressionists did. Shadows are heavily accentuated.
What feeling does the use of colour in “The Hunt” create?
The use of colour gives a feeling of joy and excitement. There is a strong contrast between the red-brown bodies and greens of the background.
What is the focus on in “The Hunt”.
The area of focus appears to be the 3 figures in the foreground. The white dog leads the eye to them.
What overall impression is created by “The Hunt” in the viewer?
An impression of vibrant colours and patterns, but one does not feel any emotions in the subjects and they almost appear like bored models posing for a fashion shoot.
