The Age of Anxiety: Art in the Early 20th Century

The early 20th century was a time of great change. From the horrors of World War I to the economic struggles of the Great Depression, people felt very anxious about their future. This period of anxiety is called the "Age of Anxiety" which greatly influenced the art of the time. Artists responded to these by creating art that reflected the feelings of fear and uncertainty people were experiencing. Through various art movements such as Expressionism, Surrealism, and Dadaism, the artists tried to capture the emotional impact of the said era.

In this blog, I'll be showing three artworks that reflect the anxiety of the early 20th century. Each piece has different aspects of the fears and struggles of the time. Moreover, I will also discuss my own thoughts to these works and how they make me feel when I look at them.

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The Influence of War, Depression, and Modern Life on Art

The early 20th century was full of events that shook the world. The First World War caused massive loss and suffering, and the Great Depression left millions of people without work and struggling to survive. Along with these events, new technologies and rapid changes in society made people feel uncertain about their future. Artists began to explore the inner workings of the mind, expressing feelings of fear and confusion. Their work became a way to reflect the emotional weight of these changes.

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1. "The Scream" by Edvard Munch (1893)

Artist: Edvard Munch
Date: 1893
Location: Oslo, Norway

Edvard Munch’s The Scream is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It shows a figure standing on a bridge, hands pressed to its face, mouth open in a silent scream. The figure looks terrified, and the sky behind it swirls with bright, disturbing colors.

How it Reflects Anxiety:

This painting shows a sense of dread and fear. Munch’s swirling colors in the sky make the scene feel unstable, as if the world is falling apart. The figure appears overwhelmed by anxiety, a common feeling during the early 20th century, as people dealt with the horrors of war and the rapid changes in society.

My Thoughts:

When I look at The Scream, I feel a sense of unease. The bright colors, especially the oranges and reds, feel ver chaotic. The figure’s distorted face and the swirling background create a sense of disorientation and confusion. It makes me think about how, during that time, people might have felt that the world was out of control, and nothing made sense anymore.

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2. "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso (1937)

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Date: 1937
Location: Madrid, Spain

Picasso's Guernica was painted in response to the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The painting shows a chaotic scene of suffering, with screaming people, a dead child, and an injured horse. The work is large and intense, filled with sharp angles and broken, fragmented figures.

How it Reflects Anxiety:

This painting captures the horror and confusion of war. The distorted figures and the bold use of black, white, and gray create a sense of a world falling apart. Picasso uses abstract shapes and broken forms to show the chaos and violence of war, and the suffering of the people in the painting feels intense and real. This work reflects the fear and destruction that many experienced during wartime.

My Thoughts:

Guernica is overwhelming. The disjointed figures and the angular shapes make the violence seem even more brutal. The lack of color also gives the painting a sense of coldness and emptiness just as if the world has lost all its warmth and life. Looking at it, I feel a deep sadness and horror which almost as if I am witnessing the violence and pain firsthand. It shows how war destroys not just lives, but the color of society.

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3. "Automat" by Edward Hopper (1927)

Artist: Edward Hopper
Date: 1927
Location: New York City, USA

In Automat, Edward Hopper shows a woman sitting alone in a diner, staring at her coffee cup. The diner is quiet and empty except for her, with harsh light shining on her face. She appears lost in thought, distant, and disconnected from everything around her.

How it Reflects Anxiety:

This painting shows the loneliness and isolation of modern life. Even though the woman is in a public place, she is alone, lost in her own thoughts. This feeling of being disconnected was common in the early 20th century, especially in big cities where people often felt distant from one another. The woman's emptiness and the cold, impersonal setting suggest a deeper emotional numbness or a disconnection from life itself.

My Thoughts:

Looking at Automat makes me feel sad and isolated. The woman looks so detached from everything around her and I get the sense that she is trying to escape her own thoughts. The way the light falls on her face shows her loneliness making her feel even more isolated. I can almost feel the loud silence in the painting which makes me reflect on how loneliness can be an overwhelming part of modern life.

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Conclusion

The three artworks I’ve showed in this blog, The Scream by Edvard Munch, Guernica by Pablo Picasso, and Automat by Edward Hopper, show different sides of the anxiety people felt in the early 20th century. Whether it was the fear of war, the trauma caused by violence, or the growing sense of loneliness in modern life, these artists captured the feelings of fear and disconnection that were common at the time. These paintings not only reflect the worries of their era but also speak to emotions that still resonate today.

References

"Art and the Great Depression." American Art Review, 2019, www.americanartreview.com/art-and-the-depression.

"World War I and the Birth of Modern Art." Art History Journal, vol. 15, no. 3, 2017, pp. 90-101.

Hopper, Edward. Automat. 1927, New York City, USA. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat_%28Hopper%29. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Munch, Edvard. The Scream. 1893, Oslo, Norway. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Picasso, Pablo. Guernica. 1937, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernica_(Picasso). Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.