George Grosz German, 1893-1959

After attending the Academy of Fine-Arts in Dresden for two years, Georg Grosz moves to Berlin in 1911 and stays in Paris in 1913 to complete his artistic education. Enlisted in 1914, he is wounded and reformed by 1915 which allows him to return to Berlin.

In 1917-18, he paints one of his most famous works: “The Funeral (Dedicated to Oskar Panizza)”, greatly influenced by the new experimentations of the futurists who exhibited at the avant-garde Berlin gallery Der Sturm from 1912.

In 1918, Grosz founds the German Dada movement along with John Heartfield, Wieland Herzefelde, Kurt Schwitters and Max Ernst. In that spirit, he creates photomontages that reflect his acute sense of deprecation. These artists in opposition with all forms of established Art organize in 1920 in Berlin the Great International Dada Art Fair, shortly before the disintegration of the movement.

Georg Grosz, who had previously been a member of the communist party and collaborates to “Die rote Fahne” (The Red Flag), produces various drawings and illustrations: desgusted by the horrors of the Great War, he violently caricatures the German army and the vices of the decadent bourgeoisie.

Grosz's political engagement continues as he becomes president of the "Rote Gruppe" (the red group) in 1924. At the same time his pictorial style, first strongly influenced by expressionism and futurism, evolves progressively towards a kind of metaphysical realism. This brings him to participate in 1925 to the "Neue Sachlichkeit" (New Objectivity), at the Kunsthalle of Manheim, where he exhibits next to Otto Dix and Max Beckman. This movement, behind its seemingly formal objectivity, applies itself to highlight the difficult social and financial conditions in the urban or industrial alienation context.

Georg Grosz becomes a member of the Association of Revolutionary Artists, but the arrival of the Nazis to power in 1933 pushes him to emigrate to the US where he obtains the Nationality in 1938.

Years later, Grosz felt the need to return to Germany and died there in 1959.