A Short History of Magic Realism

        Magic Realism developed as an art movement in the years after World War I . For many decades thereafter numerous artists throughout Europe and subsequently in the Americas crafted a representational art, mixed with elements of fantasy. This art was often typified by remarkable detail and sharp focus. Yet more importantly Magic Realism taps into emotional reservoirs within all of us. It tricks us by hiding unexpected or suggestive content in what at first might seem to be a common and ordinary scene.

        Magic Realism evolved as a current within the Post-Expressionism movement in Weimar Germany. Related to the Return to Order movement as seen elsewhere in Europe, Post-Expressionism exhibited fewer neoclassical impulses than the parallel postwar realist trends in Italy and France. It evolved directly from Expressionism, by shedding the latter movement's abstract style and emotionally charged nature. Its development moved slower than related trends in other European countries, not fully maturing until the mid 1920s.

          The term Magic Realism was coined by the writer Franz Roh in 1925. He was referring to works within Post-Expressionistic art in which some mystery or a secret seemed to be hidden inside or behind the subject . This type of art differed from  pre-war Realism, which was generally naturalistic and/or narrative in nature. Two important sources of inspirations for Magic Realism  came from the Metaphysical works of Giorgio de Chirico and the naive art of Henri Rousseau.

       Magic Realism is a type of realism covering contemporary subjects, often in cool detachment and sometimes injecting an eerie atmosphere. Juxtapositions of sharply rendered and detailed elements, both in the foreground and background, are used to develop an air of mystery or ambiguity. Although these paintings incorporate everyday objects, their objective is not to appear banal . Instead they show us the everyday world in new and unfamiliar ways. Magic Realism acted as a gateway to Surrealism and later also influenced Contemporary Realism .

        The potential of the new movement could be seen with the traveling exhibition Die Neue Sachlichkeit (The New Objectivity), which was organized by Gustav Hartlaub, and began in Mannheim during 1925. Thereafter Neue Sachlichkeit was to replace Post-Expressionism when referring to the dominant style of the Weimar period. The most notable artists of Neue Sachlichkeit were Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Christian Schad, George Grosz, and Franz Radizwill .     

         The onset of the Great Depression and subsequent rise of the Nazi party in the 1930s were to bring a halt to further development of Neue Sachlichkeit. The Nazis declared most of the movement as "Degenerate Art". Many works were destroyed in public burnings or in the bombings during the war. Many artists lost their academic positions or were dislocated from their homes. And during the 1930s many artists channeled their efforts into Surrealism, which became popular in Europe during this decade. World War II dampened the further development of Magic Realism in Europe; however it would continue to surface in the works of many artists during the decades of the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

        Meanwhile most  American artists remained isolated from the developments in Europe. Generally, the Realism of the 1920s and 30s in the U.S. is referred to as The American Scene. This included rural art, called Regionalism, and urban art, usually referred to as Social Realism . American art had strong traditions of Realism going back to the 18th century, somewhat influenced by late developing Impressionism, but also by an indigenous Expressionism and by naive styles.

        Within The American Scene there were many styles, some of which are closely related to the Magic Realism of Germany. Grant Wood traveled to Europe several times, where he studied the German and Flemish Masters and became acquainted with Neue Sachlichkeit. He developed a parochial naturalism with a satirical bend. Ivan Albright developed a bizarre realism with extreme detail, which eventually became ossified. During this same time, the Precisionists, led by Charles Sheeler, developed a detached style of art with sharp detail, sharing many characteristics with Neue Sachlichkeit .

        During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Surrealism movement in art gained momentum in Europe. A number of artists in America were interested in Surrealism and experimented, mixing it with Realism . They were however not interested in joining the European movement . This remained the case even after a number of the European Surrealists immigrated to the U.S. at the end of the 1930s, fleeing from the impending war. In the 1930s the American public became aware of European Surrealism, largely due to the publicity surrounding Salvador Dali . Within a few years, however, Dali was discredited by the American critics, on the basis that he had sold out to commercial interests.

        Many of the American artists of the 1930s experimented with a home-gown type of Surrealism, yet, for the most part, this art remains distinct from the art that had developed earlier in Europe. A major exhibition "American Realists and Magic Realists", was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York during 1942. Within the exhibit, the artists generally referred to as Magic Realists  were Ivan Albright, Clarence H Carter, Peter Blume, Philip Evergood,  O Louis Guglielmi, Jared French, Paul Cadmus, Zsissly (Malvin Marr Albright), and Charles Rain . Work by Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper was also included. Wyeth has to later become perhaps the most well-known American artist to be associated with Magic Realism .

        Two other artists who began painting in the 1940s became important Magic Realists. George Tooker, friend of Paul Cadmus and Jared French, worked in egg tempera exclusively, and consistently produced work during the next 50 years. And the Canadian Alex Colville gave us a personal view of his native country during the decades after World War II .Many other artists throughout the Americas produced work related to Magic Realism . However, the rise of Abstract Expressionism in the U.S. during this period took most of the publicity away from representational art.

        There is some debate as to whether Magic Realism encompasses a movement in art, or whether it is simply a style. It should be noted that there is controversy with most art movements, arguments over which artists and works should be included.  There is no manifesto or standard bearer for Magic Realism . Yet, let's remember that its artists were neither avant-garde nor publicity seekers. Every magician uses different tricks and keeps his own secrets. Magic Realism depends on portraying the  unexpected, not on the programmed. Its artists were often introverted, even reclusive. Perhaps we should call Magic Realism "The Quiet Movement".

        In Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World pictured above, we first see a young girl, who is looking with us at a rural farm in the distance. As we look more closely, we notice that the girl's arms are thin and deformed. We later learn that she is not, in fact, a young woman, but Christina Olson, disabled and in her fifties, as she drags herself through the field toward her house on the skyline. Magic Realism reminds us that we don't always at first understand the true identity of objects, and that there are many mysteries in life yet to be explained.

        The techniques used by Magic Realists were employed in many parts of the world throughout the 20th century. Ten Dreams has compiled an extensive history of Magic Realism, supported by numerous galleries. We invite you to explore this movement in detail, from its beginnings in Weimar Germany through its spread to many countries worldwide, in our more comprehensive study that follows.

Neue Sachlichkeit Gallery
America Magic Realism Gallery

Email: dreams@tendreams.org.