The themes from Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis can often be found in the many art movements that make up Modernism. The theme that "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" is best reflected in the art movement of Cubism, showing the disproportionate images of life, the messed up pictures where each shape is another aspect of life that can and will be screwed. Cubism didn't, however, start out like that. Cubism was led by Spaniard Pablo Picasso and Frenchman George Braque. Cubism was meant to break from traditional painting where everything looks normal. Instead, Cubists painted in multiple two-dimensional shapes to create three-dimensional figures. These figures appeared broken and fragmented, creating multiple horizons and points of view at the same time. These disoriented figures can show life being broken, fragmented, and all wrong because it can be wrong.
Cubism came in two major phases, Analytic and Synthetic. The Analytic phase was from 1907-1912. This phase was so abstract that it consisted of overlapping planes making one giant, three-dimensional, geometric blog; almost as if Cubists were painting what someone was seeing while being high. Most artwork in this period was in browns, grays, or blacks. Landscapes were rare; paintings consisted of a motif; such as musical instruments, bottles, and playing cards; and a human. This phase attempted to show the world through the mind, not the eye. Being simpler and brighter, the Synthetic phase lasted from 1913 through the 1920s. The art from this phase was shallower, blander, and less abstract. The works from this period influenced many other painters, as well as some sculptures and architecture of the twentieth century.
One of these Cubist works of art is "Artillery" by Frenchman Roger de La Fresnaye. Artillery was painted in 1911, three years before World War I. WWI also happens to appear to be the subject of this work. However, this scene is entirely fictional. La Fresnaye could have seen this sort of military operations in Paris, the military officers on white and brown horses, the caissons rolling by, foot soldiers in helmets marching along, and bands playing militaristic songs.
Roger de La Fresnaye was the son of a military officer. He painted "Artillery" in 1911, the same year he joined the Section d'Or, a group started by Pablo Picasso and George Braque, the founders of Cubism. Le Fresnaye painted "Artillery" paying close detail to the colors. He painted it using basic geometric shapes for everything, while painting in a combo of red, white, and blue. He also used many earthen tones to deepen his painting. His view, and of all Cubists, was that "solid geometry underlines the all forms in nature" and this can be taken to be applied to Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.
"Artillery" and The Metamorphosis share some of the same theme. The theme of "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" shows in "Artillery" because it is a scene of war. War means that something has gone wrong. The Metamorphosis shows this because Gregor Samsa was turned into a bug. The two both show life falling apart, people being turned into bugs, and a broken image that shows life has been fractured.
Works Cited
“CUBISM.”Art Industri. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.
“Cubism Thematic Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009-2010. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.
“Roger de La Fresnaye: Artillery (1991.397) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-2010. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.
