And like many European Expressionist authors and artists who had voluntarily enlisted in their respective armies, Franz Marc realised much too late that war was never a positive, but a philosophy, a way of thinking that begat only death and destruction (not only his own death int the trenches, but the deaths of thousands and thousands, among them many of the brightest and most promising literary and artistic lights of their age). For like so many European Expressionists (both writers and artists), Franz Marc originally did very much welcome WWI as some sort of futuristic dream, a strong, willful current to clean and beautify a decrepit and decadent society. ![]() And although this is not mentioned in the author's note itself, the fact that Eric's art teacher, Herr Krauss, secretly showed him Expressionist art, and mentioned to him not only that the Nazis had no appreciation for art, but that they were and I quote charlatans, that was both incredibly brave and extremely risky (for the Nazis generally much relied on rumor and innuendo, and if Eric had either intentionally or even just unintentionally mentioned his talk with the art teacher, and the authorities had somehow gotten wind of this, Herr Krauss could easily have faced very, very serious and perhaps even potentially fatal, lethal consequences).īut sadly, while the biographical information regarding Franz Marc (from the author's note of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse) is basically and generally factually adequate, one important and supremely tragic aspect of Franz Marc's life has unfortunately not been mentioned. Now all that being said, I really do oh so much appreciate the additional information about Eric Carle's childhood in Nazi era Germany at the back of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse(wonderful and informative, but also bery much thought-provoking). For in may opinion, if Eric Carle had truly wanted to have both the narrative and the illustrations appear as an actual homage to Franz Marc the Expressionist artist, why did he not simply make his artist figure into Franz Marc? It still would make The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse textually a rather simplistic offering for young children, but it would also show a narrative that actually has some meaning and some actual potential connection to Franz Marc, to the artist himself. But no, I do not really find the featured narrative all that interesting and engaging in and of itself (and I also do not really see exactly how the presented, featured text of The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is or can even be remotely regarded as an actual homage to Franz Marc, the illustrations, perhaps, if not even definitely, but the printed words that accompany said illustrations, not so much). ![]() ![]() ![]() I have always loved Eric Carle's artwork, and the illustrations are indeed lovely, evocative, exuberant, pure Eric Carle magic. I have to say that I am a little disappointed with and by The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |