Paintings by Kate Diehn-Bitt. The Phenomenology of Femininity in the New Objectivity Art

Abstract

The article aims to offer a detailed analysis of the artworks by the German artist Kate Diehn-Bitt. The performed analysis considers the broader context of the period — social and cultural changes unfolding in Europe — and focuses on the perception of female identity. The article examines the paradoxes of modernism, emphasizing the dual nature of artistic activity: the desire for self-expression, on the one hand, and the existence of certain aesthetic norms, on the other. The key objective was to study the artist’s portraits through the lens of gender, as well as examine their iconography and semantics within a complex socio-cultural context. Kate Diehn-Bitt’s works reflect the traditional social roles women played, such as mothers and wives, while considering them from the standpoint of a woman painter, which shapes their perception. The very fact of turning to figuration places her works (mainly portraits and considerably fewer genre compositions) among the masters of new materiality. However, she also significantly stands out due to an unusually lyrical tone of her works, encouraging the viewers approach seemingly familiar motifs from a different perspective. Many of her works show archetypal images; by addressing this theme, the artist questions the possibility of female self-expression in the 20th century society. The author concludes that without radicalising the topic, nor turning to resonant motives, Kate Diehn-Bitt managed to become one of the main exponents of the true self-awareness of women of her generation. Namely, of the mid-20th century European women who, were not deprived of their original essence after getting “freedom of speech”, but rather acquired further opportunities to do achieve their aims, play a significant role in political and social life, as well as to act as an equal partner.

References

1. Voronina O. A. Feminizm i gendernoe ravenstvo [Feminism and gender equality]. Moscow, Editorial URSS, 2004, 320 p. (In Russ.)

2. Kameneckaya N. Yu. Gendernye aspekty reprezentacii tela v sovremennom iskusstve [Gender Aspects of Body Representation in Contemporary Art]. Vestnik RGGU. Seriya «Filosofiya. Sociologiya. Iskusstvovedenie», 2010, pp. 224–232. (In Russ.)

3. Koroleva A. Yu. Mezhdu «vyrozhdenieM» i «vozrozhdenieM». Zhenskie obrazy v zhivopisi novoj veshchestvennosti [Between “degeneration” and “rebirth”. Female images in the painting of new materiality]. Aktual’nye problemy teorii i istorii iskusstva: sb. nauch. statej. Issue 12. Ed. by A. V. Zakharovoj, S. V. Mal’cevoj, E. Yu. Stanyukovich-Denisovoj. SPb., Izd-vo SPBGU, 2022, pp. 450–459. (In Russ.)

4. Koroleva A. Yu. Recepciya klassiki v zhivopisi novoj veshchestvennosti [Reception of classics in painting of new substance]. Teoriya i istoriya iskusstva, 2023, no. 1/2, pp. 214–229. (In Russ.)

5. Lobodanov A. P. Innovacionnaya model’ obrazovaniya v oblasti iskusstva. Teoriya i istoriya iskusstva, 2023, no. 3/4, pp. 33–57. (In Russ.)

6. “Hier Kate!”: Selbst und Exotik im Werk Kate Diehn-Bitts. Ausstellungskatalog: Kunstmuseum Ahrenshoop, 23.07.2016–23.10.2016, Ostseebad Ahrenshoop, 80 s.

7. Arrieta K. Kate Diehn-Bitt – Tagebuch: Kindheit und Jugend 1904–1920, Max-Samuel-Haus (Hrsg.), Rostock, Max-Samuel-Haus, 2009. Schriften aus dem Max-Samuel-Haus; Bd. 10, 40 s.

8. Arrieta K. Kate Diehn-Bitt: der Joseph-Zyklus und andere Arbeiten zur jüdischen Geschichte und Mythologie. Max-Samuel-Haus (Hrsg.). Rostock, Max-Samuel-Haus, 2007, 36 s. (Schriften aus dem Max-Samuel-Haus; Bd. 8).

9. Arrieta K. Kate Diehn-Bitt: im Kreise der Nächsten. Die Neue Frau? 2015, s. 32–45.

10. Diehn-Bitt, Kate. In: Dietmar Eisold (Hrsg.). Lexikon Künstler in der DDR. Berlin: Verlag Neues Leben, 2010, 148 s.

11. Frühauf C. Vergessene Kunst: Kate Diehn-Bitt, Elisabeth Sittig, Hedwig Holtz-Sommer: Künstlerinnen der Verschollenen Generation aus der Sammlung der Universität Rostock. Veröffentlichungen der Universitätsbibliothek Rostock, 84 s.

12. Gerds P. Viele Wege der berühmten Malerin führen nach Bad Doberan: paradiesische Kindheit, erste Arbeiten und Beisetzung im Ostseebad; Kate Diehn-Bitt – Die große Ausstellung in Rostock. Norddeutsche neueste Nachrichten, 2002, no. 50(233), s. 11.

13. Kate Diehn-Bitt (1900–1978); Zeichnungen, Aquarelle, Collagen; anlässlich des 90. Geburtstages der Künstlerin am 12. Februar 1990, Galerie am Boulevard, Rostock, 6.2.–22.3.1990. Rostock: Galerie am Boulevard, 1990, no. 43, 48 s.

14. Kate Diehn-Bitt. Rezhim dostupa: https://www.kate-diehn-bitt.de/.

15. Möller I. Kate Diehn-Bitt. Dresden: VEB Verlag der Kunst, 1987. 32 s.

16. Palme P. Diehn-Bitt, Käthe (Kate). In: Sabine Pettke (Hrsg.). Biographisches Lexikon für Mecklenburg. (Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Mecklenburg: Reihe A). Bd. 4. Lübeck, Schmidt-Römhild, 2004. S. 32–35.

17. Palme P. Kate Diehn-Bitt. Leben und Werk. 1900–1978. Berlin, MCM ART Verlag, 2002, 192 s.

18. Price D. Glanz und Elend der neuen Frau in der Weimarer Republik. Glanz und Elend in der Weimarer Republik. Hrsg. von Pfeiffer I. Frankfurt, Hirmer Verlag GmbH, 2017, s. 152–181.

19. Schael M. Die Kate Diehn-Bitt Stiftung — eine Neugründung zur Wahrung des Oeuvres und des Nachlasses einer Rostocker Künstlerin. Mitteilungen des Museumsverbandes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2023, Vol. 32, s. 17–18.