From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Comic Grotesque: Wit And Mockery In German Art, 1870-1940 is an art history book edited by
Pamela Kort published by
Prestel Publishing Co. in December 2004. Filled with
irreverent wit, comical elements, and
absurdist humor, the concept of the grotesque has fascinated artists since ancient times, but it achieved importance as a novel aesthetic approach in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Starting with
Arnold Böcklin’s
grotesque pictorial compositions, this volume, accompanying an exhibition at Neue Galerie New York, brings together an array of artists who drew inspiration from grotesque ideas about
disorder,
distortion, and
inanity, including
Lovis Corinth,
Paul Klee,
Max Klinger,
Otto Dix,
Alfred Kubin,
Kurt Schwitters, and
Emil Nolde. Essays consider the frequently overlooked connection between the
visual arts and other media, specifically the rise of
cabaret culture and
humor magazines. In addition, the authors examine the legacy of the grotesque movement as seen in modern drama, art, and performance. With nearly two hundred color and black-and-white illustrations, this striking collection traces the evolution of a largely ignored, but hugely influential, movement in modern art.
