Berlin, 1917. Arnold Topp, a teacher in Brandenburg, prepares a revolutionary canvas for the Der Sturm gallery. A blue house is about to soar into infinite space.
Shards of Color in Dialogue
Observe these chromatic surfaces converging to a point. The blue of the house dialogues with yellow, red, and green fragments. A golden window shines like a beacon. Topp applies oil to cardboard in successive layers. The contours undulate, curve, refuse Cubist rigidity.
These forms evoke broken stained glass reorganizing itself in space. The composition unfolds its colored wings in a fan. Each surface reflects the others in a subtle chromatic play.
The Influence of Franz Marc and Der Blaue Reiter
This work emerges in the wake of German Expressionism. Arnold Topp associated with Franz Marc and Heinrich Campendonk, whose influence is evident in these organic curves. In 1918, critic Adolf Behne praised this “absolute painting” where color becomes a “vehicle of architectural sensibility.”
Topp exhibited this painting at the Der Sturm gallery, temple of the Berlin avant-garde, in May 1918. The work embodies the Expressionist quest for a spiritual reality beyond appearances. Forms dissolve to reveal the emotional essence of the landscape.
Arnold Topp
Arnold Topp (1887-1945) developed a unique pictorial vocabulary from 1913 onward. This drawing and gymnastics teacher became an “absolute painter.” He created uncompromisingly from pure color. His style synthesizes Expressionism and nascent abstraction.
Think about it
💭 If this blue house were a fragment of your own inner universe, what color would dominate your intimate landscape?
About This Work
- Image with Blue House
- Arnold Topp
- circa 1917
- Oil on cardboard
- 58.5 × 50.5 cm
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie (Andres Kilger, Public Domain)
- https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/963877/bild-mit-blauem-haus
