With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
A window into the life of Hans Hess
PAUL MACGEE highlights a new series of books that brings together a treasure trove of writings by a Jewish Marxist art historian who offers readers a refreshingly grounded theory of art
DISTINGUISHED: Portrait of Hans Hess c1962 (photographer unknown)
LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend
Keir Starmer’s £120 million to Sudan cannot cover the government’s complicity in the RSF genocide or atone for the long shadow of British colonialism and imperialism, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Join the traditional march from Clerkenwell Green, which will bring together countless international workers’ organisations in a statement against the far right
Ecuador’s election wasn’t free — and its people will pay the price under President Noboa
Mountains of research show that hardcore material harms children, yet there are still no simple measures in place
We face austerity, privatisation, and toxic influence. But we are growing, and cannot be beaten
WHAT started as a modest compilation of known writings on art and Marxism by the art historian Hans Hess is turning into a four-volume collection of his work, including a series of illustrated lectures and recently uncovered unpublished writings along with material written for the amusement of children.
Hans Hess was born into a well-off family of cultured, enlightened and progressive-minded German Jews. His father Alfred, a staunch social democrat and admirer of the Soviet Union, owned Hess Schuh and by fortunate circumstance won the contract to provide boots for the Red Army in the mid-20s.
With good advice from curators and art dealers, Alfred was able to accumulate a representative collection of the art of the Weimar avant garde, most especially of Expressionist and Modernist inspiration.
Similar stories
JAN WOOLF revels in a painter of the poetic, whose freshness emulates that of the very young
JAN WOOLF recommends an exhibition of Brecht’s collages whose message is driven home by actors recreating scenes from his unfinished plays
CHRISTINE LINDEY guides us through the vivid expressionism of a significant but apolitical group of pre WWI artists in Germany
ROGER McKENZIE discusses the different Marxist traditions of thought about race and racism in the first in a four-part serialisation of his new book, African Uhuru