New European Painting

What is New European Painting?

By the end of the 20th century, the term New European Painting finds its way into the terminology of the art world and is still used today. In this article, we aim to define the term, sketch the historical context and meaning of New European Painting and discuss its prominent representatives over the decades. Although there is no exact written definition in our contemporary – art historical glossary, one can state a general consensus on the subject matter concerning the definition and demarcation in time and space.

New European Painting is an art historical term used to describe contemporary painting in Europe from the 1980s and 1990s up to now.[1] This movement is characterized by new figuration in relation to the previously dominant American abstraction, marked by our collective history, memory, and post-war trauma.

The foundation and character of this movement which connects a group of artists across several generations are based on a historical connection of artists with the tradition of European naturalistic painting and (recent) European history (cf. infra; Historical Context & Subject-Matter).

Historical Context & Subject Matter

This connection between naturalism and European art history is of vital importance. It is in fact, a pretext for the renewed interest in figuration. New European Painting is situated after Modernist painting – the culmination point was (American) Abstract Expressionism. The fundamental principles of modernism included – among others – the rejection of history and tradition, resulting in almost teleological progress to abstraction, abolishing our traditions and history.[2]

In a post-war era, this left us feeling a bit alienated. The art world reacts with postmodern art, resulting in Conceptual Art, installations, and performances. From the perspective of painting as a medium, it is in this era, it is declared to be dead within the broader postmodern discourse of “Le findes grands récits” as stated in Jean-François Lyotard’s (1924-1988) La Condition Postmoderne.[3]

However, with postmodern painting – particularly in the 80s and 90s – a renewed interest in figuration comes along while re-embracing and acknowledging our tradition and history. For instance, Sigmar Polke (1941-2010) – a pioneer in postmodern painting and one of the leading painters of the first generation of New European Painting – effectuates an ingenious eclecticism by implementing Albrecht Dürer’s (1471-1528) hare and monogram on a layer of abstract brush marks, sitting on top of a mass-produced fabric. [see image above]

This painting illustrates exactly what is happening at this moment in time with Postmodern painting. From a dialectic perspective, the German artist searches for a new synthesis for his day and age. He uses abstract brushstrokes reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism, which was then seen as the pinnacle of advanced art and painting, a symbol of innovation and progress. But at the same time, he acknowledges our history and tradition by depicting Dürer’s hare, Polke’s compatriot and arguably the most important painter of his home country, Germany. A third element and surface come into play using the mass-produced fabric referencing consumer and popular culture, one of the critical characteristics of postmodern art.

From a modernist point of view, the painting is relevant to its abstract surface. He is at the same time relevant in a contemporary context as a postmodern artist, referring to popular culture and the fading distinction between high and low art. And finally, he innovates by re-embracing his history and tradition, pioneering the renewed interest and importance of figurative art and New European Painting with Dürer’s hare.[4]

The subject matter of New European Painting is strongly related to the European post-war era.[5] There is a solid connection to the artist’s shared, personal, and general history. For instance, Neo-Expressionist and German painters of the first wave of New European Painting (cf. infra; The Main Representatives of New European Painting) such as Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945). Kiefer grew up, literally, between the ruins of World War II. As a result, these ruins were a starting point for the German painter-sculptor and have been visually present throughout his entire oeuvre, up to today.[see image above]

We can find another example in the Belgian Pictor Doctus Luc Tuymans (b. 1958). Deeply rooted in the tradition of Northern European Painting – think of his public adoration for the Early Netherlandish painter Jan Van Eyck (1380/1390-1441) – Tuymans’ artworks are strongly connected to the historical trauma of World War II and its lingering effects on the lives of Europeans.[6] Throughout his childhood, the aftermath of World War II was never far away, as his mother’s family was part of the resistance, helping refugees in hiding, his father’s side had connections to the Hitler Youth and Flemish collaboration.

This tension resulted in dubious and politically charged paintings referencing the Second World War indirectly, as well as directly. For instance, one of his most controversial paintings, titled Gaskamer from 1986 [see image below], depicts a gas chamber from the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, confronting the viewer with the trauma of the Holocaust.

Besides references to World War II,[s.n.: see image at the top of the page] Tuymans also takes on Belgium’s controversial colonial (recent) history, as well as other socio-political and ideological events such as 9/11, the War on terror, and more. Think of his portraits of political figures such as Condoleezza Rice or Patrice Lumumba.

With Tuymans, a second characteristic aspect concerning the subject matter of New European Painting comes into play; simulacra, a flood of images, new media, and its effect on image theory and, therefore, on painting. Since the 80s, European painters have been interested in the impact of new media on the image and on representing or reproducing images with painting, resulting in a so-called postmodern archive “fever”.[7] With the development of the World Wide Web and the democratization of access to images, this technological event is a catalyst for this attitude towards archive images or ‘archive art’.

A great example to illustrate this vital facet of New European Painting can be found in Marlene Dumas (b. 1953); “Second-hand images can generate first-hand emotions.”[8]

Dumas ‘feverishly’ collects second-hand imagery in high volumes and with a specific intention. She never paints directly from life but opts to paint from her ever-growing archive of images full of personal imagery, such as reference pictures of herself or her daughter, the collective memory, and ‘public’ images or recognizable figures.

Even today, this element of image theory, the archive of images, and the flood of pictures due to new digital media are of utmost contemporary relevance. The current generation of painters is deeply embedded in this issue, in subject matter from a visual perspective. The ever-increasing amount of flat screen images has changed our esthetics drastically, resulting in a photographic – not photorealistic – visual language in painting characteristic for the 21st century. Even with painters such as Michaël Borremans (b. 1963) or Markus Schinwald (b. 1973) who opt to render their images in an Old Master-like manner, the photographic character of the image remains present in their esthetics.[9]

The Development, Generations, and Main Representatives of New European Painting

The emergence and development of New European Painting have unfolded over the years. In the New York Times archives, we find an article from 1983 titled New European Painters.[10] The article tells us how collectors buy figurative paintings from European artists by the dozen and also mentions the role of the post-war climate in Europe.

One could distinguish three different generations throughout the development of New European Painting. The article in question discusses several artists by name, such as Georg Baselitz (b. 1938), Sandro Chia (1946), Francesco Clemente (19 52), and the aforementioned Anselm Kiefer and Sigmar Polke. These artists, and several others such as Add Bracha Ettinger (1948)and Gerhard Richter (b. 1932), are the pioneers forming the first generation of New European Painting.

It is clear to say this first generation is strongly connected to the emergence of Neo-Expressionism in the 70s and 80s. The Neue Wilde in Germany, Figuration Libre in France, and Transavantgarde in Italy take the European continent by storm, indicating the renewed interest in figuration and the strong appetite for paint(ing). However, what distinguishes these artists from so-called Bad Painting, the Neo-Expressionist equivalent in the States, are the aforementioned typical aspects in the subject matter of the paintings, such as the European Post-War trauma and the practice of turning historical and personal images/photographs into art.

From a visual point of view, some of these artists from the first generation escape the label of Neo-Expressionist painting. For instance, Sigmar Polke, who seems to defy categorization, has substantial variations throughout his oeuvre. Gerhard Richter and his photo paintings illustrate the practice of reproducing photographs into art without being a photorealist [see image below]. One could even state that Richter is the true predecessor, or the most important figure, for the future generations of New European Painting and even for contemporary painters today.

The second generation of representatives of New European Painting is born roughly around 1955-1960. With this second wave of painters, the element mentioned earlier of “archive fever” comes into play. Their works are strongly influenced by the emergence of new media and digital evolution. Television, the computer, and the World Wide Web function as catalysts for the collecting culture of images, a certain distrust towards the image and its meaning, as well as the influence of these developments in image theory on society and, therefore, art.

The most important representatives of this second generation are the aforementioned Luc Tuymans and Marlene Dumas, but also, for instance, British painter Peter Doig (b. 1959).

Further, we can ascertain the third generation with painters born around 1965-1970 such as Michaël Borremans, Wilhelm Sasnal (b. 1972), Chris Ofili (b. 1968), or Paulina Orlowska (b. 1976) [see image below]. With this third generation, one notices a strong manifestation of (Neo-)surrealism and existentialism which is continued into a possible fourth generation of artists, emerging today from a broader and more international wave in painting, building upon the legacy of the representatives above of New European painting.

New European Painting Today and New Figurative Painting

Due to the further development and influence of New European Painting, the terminology has become somewhat uncertain and problematic in the current state of the arts. Although the first two to three generations primarily manifested themselves in Europe by European painters, one notices with the third and currently emerging the fourth generation that this tendency in painting has moved beyond the European border and is now manifested more globally. As a result, a recurring term related to this tendency is New Figurative Painting, seeming to replace New European Painting.

However, the foundation and character rooted in the first two generations of this movement remain valid with the current generation of European painters building upon the works of their contemporary predecessors. This foundation is based on their historical connection to the tradition of European naturalistic painting and (recent) European history (cf. supra; Historical Context & Subject- Matter).

Notes:

[1] Chris Dercon, “1980-1996” in Face a l’Histoire. (Flammarion: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1996), pp.496-561.
[2] Julien Delagrange, “Painting in a (Post-)Postmodern era” in Apologia. (Kortrijk: ContemporaryArt Issue, 2020), p. 20.
[3] Jean-François Lyotard, La condition postmoderne. Paris: Les éditions de minuit, 1979.
[4] Tony Godfrey, Painting Today. London: Phaidon, 2014.
[5] Griselda Pollock and Penny Florence, Looking Back to the Future. G&B Arts Press, 2000. [6] Zeno X Gallery, Luc Tuymans : Biography at http://www.zeno-x.com/artists/LT/luc_tuymans_bio.html.
[7] Griselda Pollock, Encounters in the Virtual Feminist Museum: Time, Space and the Archive. Routledge, 2007.
[8] Quote by Marlene Dumas. Source: Tate, Marlene Dumas: The Image as a Burden at https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/marlene-dumas-image-burden consulted 5/12/2020.
[9] S.n.: This photographic character is also a result of the artistic process, using photographs as sketches, studies, and as referen ce for the painting.
[10] John Russel, “The New European Painters” in The New York Times. April 24 (1983): p. 28.

Last Updated on October 26, 2024