Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Germany expanded its boundaries to Africa though colonization. Although short-lived, lasting only until World War I, colonization led to new ideas in German Expressionist art. Members of groups Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter copied objects of African origin in their work, including statuary and masks. Most artists were exposed to African culture and imagery when they visited numerous German ethnographic museums and performances. To the Brücke, native peoples represented the immediacy, authenticity, and direct closeness to the natural world that the artists hoped to achieve.
Germans of the early twentieth century were presented with reminders of colonization through picture postcards and advertisements. This imagery often featured racist caricatures and exaggerated depictions of African culture. Nevertheless, Die Brücke members were less scathing in their depictions of Africans. While most were silent on the issues of colonization, Emil Nolde was vocal in opposing it.
When colonization ended, groups such as Die Brücke were part of Germany’s art historical past, but works featuring blacks were not. Hannah Höch’s Dadaist photomontages satirized the ongoing fears of white women engaging in relationships with black men. The dissolution of the colonies led to other changes: tribal works were no longer novelties, ethnographic shows disappeared, and many German Expressionist works were seized or destroyed by the Nazis. The surviving imagery, however, is a lasting testimony to Germany’s cultural exchange with Africa as the twentieth century began.