Neue Wilden
- noun
- The Neue Wilden revitalized German painting in the 1980s with their bold use of color and emotion.
Examples
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Many galleries in Berlin feature works by artists associated with the Neue Wilden.
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She wrote her thesis on the influence of the Neue Wilden on contemporary European art.
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The Neue Wilden movement changed the landscape of contemporary art.
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Many of the Neue Wilden artists were influenced by street art.
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Many galleries in Berlin feature works by artists associated with the Neue Wilden.
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The Neue Wilden revitalized German painting in the 1980s with their bold use of color and emotion.
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She wrote her thesis on the influence of the Neue Wilden on contemporary European art.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Neue + Wilden
The phrase is German and literally translates to 'new wild ones', so a learner who knows the constituent words could infer it labels a group or movement of 'new' and 'wild' figures. However, the specific referent — a named neo‑expressionist art movement with particular stylistic features — is not fully predictable from the literal words alone, so the connection is only partial.
Etymology
Neue Wilden comes from the German words Neue meaning 'new' and Wilden meaning 'wild ones', and was first used by critics for painters whose work looked loud, rough and full of energy. One popular story says people called them Neue Wilden because their colourful, energetic paintings felt new and wild, so the name stuck to mean this bold art group.
