Introduction: Why Heisig Matters
From the Nazi Past to the Cold War Present
Art for an Educated Nation
Against the Wall: Murals, Modern Art, and Controversy
The Contentious Emergence of the "Leipzig School"
Portraying Workers and Revolutionaries
Conclusion: The Quintessential German Artist
Notes
Bibliography
Index
It has taken until the publication of April Eisman's ?ne book to
grant East German art generally, and Bernhard Heisig speci?cally,
the attention he deserves in English-language scholarship as one of
the major German artists of the twentieth century. For this Eisman
deserves considerable praise.
*MONATSHEFTE*
[F]ascinating . . . . [C]aptures the complexity of th[e] era and
stands to profoundly affect art historical understandings of this
controversial period of artmaking. . . . Through the rigor of her
social historical methods, Eisman reveals 'the complexity and
artistry that was possible in East Germany' (136) and disproves the
idea that communist ideology and modern art cannot coexist.
*SLAVIC REVIEW*
The book does the great service of making very detailed information
on visual art in 'East Germany' . . . . accessible to an
English-speaking public. . . . The chapters on Heisig's development
. . . are detailed and reliably reconstructed, and show an artist
who not only had to endure the conflicts in the political and
cultural system of the GDR but also exerted influence on them.
*KUNSTCHRONIK*
[F]ascinating . . . . Eisman does an excellent job of showing us
how Heisig's work illustrated the possibilities for this synthesis
[of creating modern art and contributing to the project of building
socialism] in what has been a much understudied field -- East
German art history.
*GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW*
[C]an [be] read as an argument for the importance of biographical
approaches in the study of socialist art, even in the context of
collectivist practices. . . . [W]ill be welcomed by anyone
interested in twentieth-century German art . . . and, more
specifically, committed to moving beyond conventional accounts of
modernism and its ideological others.
*MODERNISM/MODERNITY*
The first monograph in English devoted to Heisig, this book
presents an overview of [his] life and work and makes a strong case
for reconsidering his oeuvre -- and East German visual art more
broadly -- for its important contributions to art history. . . .
Accessible and well argued, the book is enhanced by 60
illustrations, many of them color plates, that reproduce the work
of Heisig and his contemporaries, providing a visual lexicon of
East German art. . . . Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates
through faculty and professionals; general readers.
*CHOICE*
Offers an interesting glimpse into the East German art world and
into debates about art and society . . . . Beautifully illustrated
with the works of Heisig and other GDR artists, Eisman's book is
based on rich archival material, close visual analysis, and
interviews with the late artist [Heisig] himself. . . . [This] book
deserves to be read not only by people who are interested in East
German art but also by anybody interested in German history in the
twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
*CENTRAL EUROPEAN HISTORY*
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