 | Part of the "Luxemboug et Grande Region 2007" manifestations, the exhibition "Kutter and the European Expressionism" is hosted by the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg, until the 19th of August. Although his name is nowadays largely forgotten, Joseph Kutter (1894-1941) was the most important Expressionist painter in Luxembourg and many important museums from Europe have presented in the past ample retrospectives of his works.
What is special about this exhibition is that the curators are representing the most important of Kutter's works together with the paintings of some of the best Expressionist artists in Germany, Belgium and France, thus presenting Kutter in an European context. |
The first Expressionist motifs appeared in the landscapes and floral compositions of Kutter, especially after 1918, when his compositions were more and more marked by the stronger forms and intense lines and colors. Despite the fact that the painter lived in Germany for several years, the influence of that country's artistic tendencies was minimal, opposed to those of France and Belgium. Over the next years, these French and Belgian influences became more and more obvious.
The center of the artistic universe of Kutter was without a doubt the human figure, his favourite subject, often represented as clowns. His clowns are sad, marked by despair and drama, without the light and beauty of the circus stage.
Photo : mnha.public.lu
2007-07-25
