Forms and Media

Forms and Media

Crossings between literature and the visual arts abound in this period. “The Poet” became a subject of painting for Chagall and Modigliani, while poets often aspired to be painters—including Apollinaire, who initially gave the title I, Too, Am a Painter to his visual poetry collection, Calligrammes. Dialogues between artists and writers resulted in innovative interpretations of the illustrated book, such as the collaborations that French poet Blaise Cendrars established with both Sonia Delaunay and Fernand Léger. Formal experimentation was diverse, ranging from the intense subjectivity of the German Expressionists of Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter to Georges Braque’s and Pablo Picasso’s Cubist depictions of everyday objects.

Amedeo Modigliani, Italian, 1884–1920
Jean Cocteau, 1916
L.1988.62.18
Marc Chagall, French, born in Belarus, 1887–1985
The Poet, 1919
x1966-29
Guillaume Apollinaire, French, 1880–1918
Calligrammes: poèmes de la paix et de la guerre, Paris: 1918
L.2013.6.12
Raoul Dufy, French, 1877–1953
The Serpent, 1911
x1968-107
Raoul Dufy, French, 1877–1953
The Hare, 1911
x1968-106
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German, 1880–1938
The singer, ca. 1911
2000-435
Erich Heckel, German, 1883–1970
Self-portrait, 1917
x1961-40
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German, 1880–1938
Two Bathing Girls, 1925
x1957-130
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German, 1880–1938
Ausstellung von Künstlergruppe Brücke im Kunstsalon Fritz Gurlit, Berlin: 1912
L.2013.6.5
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German, 1884–1976
Frau auf Teppich (Woman on a Carpet), 1915
2008-1083
Pablo Picasso, Spanish, 1881–1973 Published by Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German, 1884–1979
Nature morte: compotier (Still Life: Fruit Dish), 1909, published 1911
x1976-19
Georges Braque, French, 1882–1963 Printed by George Visat Published by Fondation Maeght
Bass, 1911, printed 1950
x1976-1
Stéphane Mallarmé, French, 1842–1898
Un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard, 4th edition, Paris: 1914
L.2013.6.7
Man Ray, American, 1890–1976
Revolving Doors, Paris: 1926
L.2013.6.4 a-j
Blaise Cendrars, French, 1887–1961 Fernand Léger, French, 1881–1955
La fin du monde filmée par l’Ange N.-D, Paris: 1919
L.2013.6.1
Blaise Cendrars, French, 1887–1961 Sonia Delaunay, French, born in Ukraine, 1885–1979
La Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France, Paris: 1913
L.2013.5.1