Mid-20th Century Literary Styles and Art Movements

Posted on Jun 20, 2025 in English Language and Literature

Novelistic Trends in the 1940s

In the 1940s, novelists sought new forms of expression, leading to the emergence of diverse literary trends:

  • The Triumphant Novel

    The Triumphant Novel defended the new political circumstances in the country. It upheld traditional values (God, Country, Family) and justified the Civil War and its consequences, often blaming the losing side. An example is Agustín de Foxá’s Madrid, de Corte a Checa.

  • The Psychological Novel

    The Psychological Novel focused on the analysis of characters’ inner lives and behaviors, often employing traditional, realistic techniques. Ignacio Agustí’s Mariona Rebull is a notable example.

  • The Poetic Novel

    The Poetic Novel followed the lyrical tradition of Gabriel Miró’s works, where the emphasis was not on the plot but on the technical and formal artistry of language.

  • The Symbolic Novel

    The Symbolic Novel featured characters functioning as symbols of ideas or conflicts, following the tradition of Unamuno’s novels. José Antonio Zunzunegui is a significant author in this trend.

  • Tremendismo

    Tremendismo was initiated by Camilo José Cela with La familia de Pascual Duarte in 1942. These novels depicted a world and characters dominated by violence and poverty.

  • The Existential Novel

    The Existential Novel is often considered to begin with Carmen Laforet’s Nada in 1945, continuing with Miguel Delibes’s La sombra del ciprés es alargada (1948) and Gonzalo Torrente Ballester’s Javier Mariño. These novels reflected themes of existential angst, sadness, and the frustration of daily life.

Key Avant-Garde Art Movements

The early to mid-20th century witnessed the rise of several influential avant-garde art movements:

  • Futurism

    Futurism celebrated the myths and stereotypes of modernity: speed, machines, and strength. Futurists glorified war and advocated for the destruction of museums, libraries, and everything related to traditional art. This movement was especially important in Italy, and its founder, F.T. Marinetti, was closely associated with fascism.

  • Expressionism

    Expressionism, a German-born movement, deformed the visible world to convey a tragic awareness of life. It expressed reality from a tormented inner self, characterized by strong colors, a certain black humor, and an an apology for the ugly. Painter Wassily Kandinsky is a representative of this movement. Expressionist elements can also be found in Valle-Inclán’s esperpentos and in the early works of Pío Baroja.

  • Cubism

    Cubism was characterized by a spirit of geometry. Cubists analyzed forms to their logical conclusion, splitting volumes, studying their parts, and reducing them to geometric shapes. Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris are the most representative names of this movement.

  • Abstraction (Abstract Art)

    Abstraction (or Abstract Art): Abstractionists sought to create a pure art. In painting, they liberated pictorial elements, form, and color from their habitual vehicle: reality. Similarly, the concept of pure poetry developed during this period.

  • Dadaism

    Dadaism: The First World War caused a crisis of values. Dadaists believed that only protest, irrationalism, absolute negation, and anarchy were consistent responses to the world’s perceived stupidity.

  • Surrealism

    Surrealism: In 1924, the poet André Breton published the First Surrealist Manifesto in Paris. This new movement inherited from its predecessor, Dada, the idea that reason was merely an annoying impediment to the development of creativity.