Famous German painter Carl Hofer or Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or Karl Hofer (October 1878-April 1955) was one of the leading ‘Expressionists’ of all times. His works carried deep impression of the Paul Cézanne and the prestigious group of artistes, ‘Die Brucke (The Bridge),’ influenced him, although he was never a part of it. Like many of his contemporaries, Hofer had to face the ire of the Nazi regime and his body of work was termed as ‘degenerate.’ Nevertheless, he regained his prominence after the Second World War. Among his most prized works, “The Wind” shot him into fame and he received his debut international award at the Carnegie International Exhibition in the year 1938.
This remarkable piece of ‘Expressionist’ work earned wide acclaims for its color scheme, line, and depiction, among viewers and critics alike. Hofer’s “The Wind” portrays two human figures, meekly facing the wrath of the blowing wind against the backdrop of dark sky and flowering ground. The two weak figures, of a man and a woman, are represented as barely managing to keep their drapes from flowing away by the strong wind currents. The clothing of both the figures is set in bright colors – purple, blue, orange, and yellow. The expressions of dismay and discomfort on the faces of the man and the woman is very distinctly portrayed by Carl, an attribute that became its key distinguishing quality among the best works of that time. In his own words, “Degree of novelty is for me no criterion of value.”
The sight of both the figures in Karl’s “The Wind” is set in one direction, towards the right side of the frame and the painter has articulately kept the happenings on the other side hidden, which opens the painting to varied interpretations. Nevertheless, the work was painted during the Nazi regime and is believed to be a representative of the winds of negative change blown by that order. The human forms in Carl’s painting tends to express the plight of the helpless common masses in Germany, who were barely managing to prevent their very existence (‘Symbolized’ by their swirling garments) being blown away by the winds of the sweeping change. The thinly framed figures with insufficient length of garments, perhaps, signify the lacking circumstances in which they had to survive.
The State opposition never deterred Karl Hofer. This factor became the driving force in his resurrection post-war. He once noted, “If a picture has been experienced and created according to the rules of graphic counterpoint, it is immaterial whether its theme is form visually or intuitively apprehended.” It was this spirit to revere his art, despite the distressed circumstances that inspired Carl Hofer to execute “The Wind,” recognized as one of his greatest works of all times.
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