Abstract This article examines Heinrich Vogeler’s journeys to the Soviet Union during the 1920s, prior to his permanent relocation to Moscow in 1931. It reassesses his idealistic and often messianic view of Soviet Russia and highlights its impact on his art. His first stay in 1923–1924 proved formative, resulting in the travelogue Reise durch Rußland [Journey through Russia, 1925] and the emergence of the so-called complex paintings that defined his work throughout the decade. The article reconstructs this journey through both verifiable and plausible encounters, and considers Vogeler’s positioning within the Soviet art scene. Drawing on previously unknown documents and artworks, it reveals his dual role as cultural mediator between Germany and the USSR, through both his art and his engagement with International Red Aid.
Abstract The Mostra d’Arte Germanica (Exhibition of German Art), a show of more than 300 paintings, sculptures, drawings, etchings, and medals by German artists aligned with Nazism, opened in Florence in November 1933. Although it was open for just over a month, the Mostra was the very first international showcase of the art of Nazi Germany, even if it opened at a moment when relations between Hitler and Mussolini were still warming. As I will argue in this article, the Mostra catalyzed Italian-German debates around the involvement of artists within the totalitarian state, and how art should articulate national, racial, and political identity. By exploring this little-studied exhibition and its ideological ramifications, I will show that the Nazi-Fascist political and diplomatic dialogue was crucial for the development of Fascist and Nazi art, and that contemporary art played a key role as a form of ‘soft’ diplomacy between these two regimes.
