Avant-Garde Movements and the Spanish Generation of ’27
Avant-Garde Movements of the Early 20th Century
Futurism: Celebrated the myths and stereotypes of modernity, such as speed, machines, and strength. Futurists glorified war and advocated for the destruction of museums, libraries, and everything related to the traditional concept of art. It was especially important in Italy, and its founder, Marinetti, was closely aligned with fascism.
Expressionism: A German-born movement that deformed the visible world to transmit a tragic awareness of life. It expressed reality from a tormented perspective, characterized by strong colors, a certain black humor, and an apology for the ugly. The painter Vasily Kandinsky is a representative of this movement. Expressionist elements can be found in the early works of Valle-Inclán and Baroja.
Cubism: Characterized by a spirit of geometry, Cubists analyzed forms to their extreme, breaking down volume, studying their parts, and reducing them to geometric shapes. Picasso and Juan Gris are the most representative names of this movement.
Abstraction: Abstractionists wanted to create pure art. In painting, they released pictorial elements, shape, and color from their habitual vehicle: reality. Similarly, the concept of pure poetry developed during this time.
Dadaism: The First World War created a crisis of values. Dadaists felt that only protest, irrationalism, absolute negation, and anarchy were consistent responses to the stupidity of the world.
Surrealism: In 1924, the poet André Breton published the First Surrealist Manifesto in Paris. The new movement inherited from its predecessor, Dada, the idea that reason is nothing but an annoying impediment to the development of creativity. Taking as its starting point the key work of Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, they concluded that the only way to remove the shackles of reason was to provide access to the subconscious. They chose two ways to “enter” it, both quintessential Surrealist techniques:
- The operator: Essentially, drawing or writing without logic, freely and uncontrollably shaking the hand or the brush.
- Disorientation reflective procedure: Images arise from the subconscious by linking objects totally strange to each other.
The Spanish Generation of ’27
They were close in age. In their studies, they lived together in the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid with other artists like the painter Dalí, the musician Falla, and the filmmaker Buñuel. Most were university professors with great intellectual training. They were liberals and showed little concern about religion. They collaborated in journals that they created.
Evolution of the Generation of ’27
1. Until 1927
Influence of Bécquer and Modernism. Soon the first avant-garde appeared. At the same time, under the influence of Juan Ramón, they were geared toward “pure poetry.” As Guillén stated, “Poetry is pure everything that stands in the poem after having removed everything that is not poetry.” They debugged the poem of anything anecdotal, of any emotion other than purely artistic. They used metaphors extensively. This poetry was quite tight and cold. They were also influenced by “human” elements, especially through popular lyric poetry (Alberti). Their thirst for perfection of form led to classicism, especially from 1925 to 1927. We can even speak of a “Gongorist” phase.
2. From 1927 to the Civil War
They seemed somewhat tired of pure formalism. A process of rehumanization began (more noticeable in some authors but present in all). There were early surrealist works (radically opposed to pure poetry). New, more human themes appeared: love, desire for fulfillment, frustration, and social or existential concerns. Pablo Neruda’s magazine Caballo Verde para la Poesía (1935) was born, showing the “Manifesto for a Poetry Without Purity.” Some poets, due to social concerns, became interested in politics (mainly in favor of the Republic).
3. After the War
Lorca died in 1936. The group dispersed:
- In exile: Guillén wrote Clamor, a work that departed from pure poetry. The issue of the lost parent appeared.
- In Spain: Only D. Alonso and V. Aleixandre remained, creating anguished, existential poetry (Hijos de la ira, 1944).