Modern Art 1900–1920

On View: East Building, Mezzanine

44 artworks on view.

The sculpture depicts a female figure seated on the edge of a large block, with her legs crossed and her feet on the ground. She faces us, her hips tilted towards the left. Her left hand is placed between her thighs, while her right arm rests on the block that she sits on. Her hair is pulled back from her face, and she has a long nose, round eyes, and small lips. The sculpture is crafted from a dark-colored material with a textured surface. The sculpture sits on a thin rectangular base.

Figure décorative

Henri Matisse

1908

Bronze Accession ID 2011.9.1

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

The painting features a collection of large, colorful flowers in varied shades of purple, pink, red, blue, orange, yellow, and white. Green stems and leaves surround the colorful flowers. In the top left corner, a person wearing a yellow hat is partially hidden among the foliage, facing the right and reaching towards the flowers. The paint is applied with thick, visible brushstrokes, and few small details are visible.

Flower Garden, Kneeling Woman with Hat

Emil Nolde

1908

Oil on canvas Accession ID 2020.112.4

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

In this painting, abstract shapes and bright colors give the impression of two tall people standing outdoors. The people are in formal attire, depicted with vibrant colors and simplified forms: a man on the right has a square head with dark orange skin and no facial features. He appears to wear a black suit jacket over a white shirt with gray pants and a bowler hat. He stands next to another person on the left who appears to be a woman with dark red skin and no facial features wearing a blue coat over a white dress, with something on her head that may be a dark, wide-brimmed hat. The woman is reaching down to the left towards an area of the painting with white, pink, and orange shapes, which may depict a small child facing away from us, with white skin and clothes, light pink hair, and an orange hat. In the background, shapes resembling twisted brown and red tree trunks add organic lines, along with areas of green, orange, and yellow. Areas of blue suggest a sky behind the trees, and the ground under the people is mostly orange with areas of yellow, green, and blue.

People by the Blue Lake

August Macke

1913

Oil on canvas Accession ID 2020.112.10

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

This is a painted portrait showing the upper body of a woman wearing a large hat or headdress. The woman is positioned facing slightly to the left. Her facial features are abstract and stylized, with dark, round eyes and thin red lips. Her skin is light green. Her dark hair is styled above her head, and on it rests an elaborate pink headdress full of flowers in shades of purple, pink, orange, yellow, and green. Her clothing is a mixture of dark orange and dark blue. The background is a mixture of blues and greens with streaks of red. The brushstrokes are textured and visible, and colors are layered over each other.

Portrait of a Woman

Alexej von Jawlensky

c. 1911

Oil on board Accession ID 2020.112.6

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

The sculpture is of a standing nude female figure. The subject is depicted in a naturalistic pose with arms down at her sides and her head turned slightly to the right. The sculpture is made from a bronze material, giving it a metallic brown appearance with a textured surface that conveys the form and contours of the human body. The figure stands on a simple base that appears to be part of the same material as the rest of the sculpture.

Standing Woman

Georg Kolbe

1926

Bronze Accession ID 2020.112.8

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

The painting depicts birch trees and autumn foliage. The composition is filled with white-gray tree trunks and colorful leaves. The largest tree is to the right of center, beginning at the bottom of the painting and appearing to continue beyond the upper edge. The color palette includes deep oranges, reds, and yellows for the leaves, with some dark blues and greens suggesting shadows. The dark-blue sky is partially visible behind a tree on the left. The paint has been applied in thick, swirling strokes.

White Beeches in Fall

Christian Rohlfs

1910

Oil on canvas Accession ID 2020.112.5

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

This painting shows a woman or girl in a blue dress and a broad-brimmed yellow hat in the middle of a field of green, cream, and yellow brushstrokes that suggest tall grass or wildflowers. To the right behind her are trees with thick canopies of green leaves and dots of red, pink, and light yellow. In the background, on the left side of the painting, is a red building underneath a sky filled with dots of white and pale blue. The paint has been applied with visible, thick brushstrokes, and details are hard to discern.

Chestnut Trees in Bloom

Maurice de Vlaminck

c. 1905/1906

Oil on canvas Accession ID 2014.18.60

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217

The sculpture depicts a person with their body bent forward, one leg extended down below them and the other stretched out backwards in the air, perpendicular to the ground. The person's arms are raised and bent at the elbows, with hands grasping a long, curved object near the back of their head. Their brow appears furrowed, their wide mouth in a neutral expression. The figure is dressed in a flowing garment that appears to be caught in mid-motion, its deep folds extending backwards. The sculpture has a rich brown color with a mottled surface, and the piece is supported on a slightly slanted rectangular base.

The Avenger

Ernst Barlach

1914

Bronze Accession ID 2017.104.1

On View: East Building Mezzanine, Gallery E217