"Stutzen der gesellschaft" van george grosz: 'n Kunshistoriese Struktuuranalise

Abstract

While freely adapting art historical methods of representatives of the Reformational tradition, the author does an extensive structuralanalys is and interpretation of a single painting, Pillars of society, b y George Grosz. This is done with reference to several aspects expressed in the work of art. The artist's particular treatment of aesthetic structural aspects, the artistic well rendered moments as well as the different under- and over stressings involved, are illustrated. These represent to a certain extent a distortion of the aesthetic structure and an insufficient development of the aesthetic quality in the anticipating structural moments. The importance of taking into account the relation between different aspects of a work of art is also stressed. The analysis of the pain tin g is done against the back ground of a concise description of biographical detail re g a rd in g the artist , as well as basic principle s in the paradigmatic framework of the author.