Abstract Expressionism: Hans Hofmann (1880-1966)

Rhapsody (1958)
oil on panel 182.9 x 81.3 cm

Botanic Garden (1942) 

oil on board laid down on panel 55.8 x 76.2 cm

Towering Spaciousness, 1956

Brooklyn Museum: Contemporary Art

Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and he is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstract Expressionism.

• Early Life and Education:

  • Born in Weißenburg, Bavaria, on March 21, 1880, to Theodor Friedrich Hofmann and Franziska Manger Hofmann.
  • Educated near Munich, he was active in the early twentieth-century European avant-garde.

• Artistic Journey:

  • Brought a deep understanding and synthesis of Symbolism, Neo-impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism when he emigrated to the United States in 1932.
  • His painting is characterized by rigorous concern with pictorial structure and unity, spatial illusionism, and bold use of color for expressive means.

• Influence and Recognition:

  • Critic Clement Greenberg considered Hofmann’s first New York solo show at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century in 1944 (along with Jackson Pollock’s in late 1943) as a breakthrough in painterly versus geometric abstraction that heralded abstract expressionism.
  • Major retrospectives at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1957) and Museum of Modern Art (1963) solidified his recognition.
  • His works are in the permanent collections of major museums worldwide.

• Influential Art Teacher:

  • Established an art school in Munich in 1915, building on the ideas of Cézanne, Cubists, and Kandinsky.
  • After relocating to the United States, he reopened the school in both New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts, until he retired from teaching in 1958 to paint full-time.
  • Influenced post-war American avant-garde artists and theories of Greenberg.

• Key Tenets:

  • Push/pull spatial theories.
  • Belief that abstract art has its origin in nature.
  • Emphasis on the spiritual value of art.

wiki/Hans_Hofmann