The reception of Murder ballad posters: history and development of German morality pictures in the XVIIth - XXth centuries

The article analyzes murder ballads, a genre of Western European art: specifically morally edifying images that emerged in the 17th century and gained tremendous popularity starting from the second half of 19th century and all the way into the first third of 20th century. They were usually created by anonymous amateur artists using tempera or oil paints on the canvas under the commission of a street musician (or "bench singers") who would perform murder ballads at markets and fairs across cities in Europe. The composition of these murder ballad posters typically included about six and more consecutively painted scenes followed by a bright title. The story was based on real life events of criminal nature that happened at that time (murders, evil deeds, scenes of violence etc.) The article will focus on special conditions which pre-determined the development of murder ballad illustrations in German culture, especially the impact they had on the debut of theatrical avant-garde forms in Germany in the first third of 20th century including "The eleven executioners" cabaret (Munich, 1901), theatrical production of "The Threepenny Opera" by Bertolt Brecht (Berlin,1928). Purpose: research and describe morally edifying pictures (or murder ballad pictures (known as well as "Moritaten" in German)) in Western European culture, from the 17th century till the beginning of the 20th century. Relevance: Today, the study of Western European folk culture of the New Age contributes to an understanding of modern society and also its interest in spectacular forms. Importantly, Moritat (or "Murder Ballad", "Bench song") becomes a unique cultural and historical link that explains the transmission way of news and tragic events to an unusual artistic form. Their character resemble amateur forms of creativity (as lubok or signboard), and in terms of entertainment they are close to the farce forms of street theater. Moritat combines visual (murder ballad posters) and musical forms (murder ballads), texts (murder ballad poems) and theatrical performances. Methods: The historical and comparative method is used for determining the specifics of the fair culture of Western Europe in the 17th - 19th centuries and also to compare it with the artistic culture of these periods. The artistic and .stylistic method is used for determining the artistic forms of murder ballad pictures and their commitment to the underground culture of that time. In terms of style these pictures resemble amateur art or kitsch (which is largely devoid of obvious artistic merits) and imitate academic painting. The best examples of murder ballad pictures can be considered as historical primitive of the 17th - 19th centuries. The comparative method is used to analyze artistic processes in the early 20th century, as well as to study classical and modern cabaret forms and chansonnier musical performances. Sources: In Russia, linguists show interest in murder ballad (Moritat). For example, L.N. Puzeykina (2013) considers Moritat as one of the most popular forms of German folklore - a folk song. The first mention of murder ballad pictures is found in the articles of art critic B.M. Sokolov (1999). The study of mysteries as one of the factors in the formation of the fair culture of the New Age is carried out by a circle of Russian researchers: A.I. Kirpichnikov (1894), M.Yu. Reutin (1996), V.F. Kolyazin (2002). The West European group of sources consists of the works of German experts: R.S. Stemmle (1962), C. Pieske (1979), B. Drexler, A. Weckmann (1983), W. Braungard (1997), K. Vanja (1999), D. Neuland-Kitzerow (1999). However, only one book "The Shocking Ballad Picture Show" (1994) by the English researcher Tom Cheesman describes the phenomenon of Moritat in the cultural aspect. Also an important comprehensive role has the catalogue "Faszinationbild: Kultur, Kontakte, Europa: Ausstellungskatalog zum Pilotprojekt Museum Europaischer Kulturen» (1999, Volume I)". It was given by the director of the Museum of European Culture of Berlin to the library of the art and cultural studies faculty of Ural Federal University (2013). Conclusions: - The Moritat genre reveals a number of features. It was originally associated with religious mysteries, combining biblical scenes with comedic episodes. Later, the main Moritat performers, street musicians (or "bench singers"), combined text and visual forms and also fixed the main stage scenes during the fair shows. They recited texts by heart with special expression, accompanying the process on a musical instrument. Their assistants most often were family members, who illustrated songs with murder ballad posters. Therefore, the Moritat genre itself includes all forms of synthetic artistic forms like text, song and picture. - Murder ballad pictures (Moritaten) have a special place in the popular folk culture of Germany and they are at the junction of folk, amateur and kitsch art. This genre of German folk art was accepted in a wide audience, and therefore proved to be durable thanks to the bright storylines associated either with the depiction of atrocities and "horrible stories", or, conversely, naive congratulatory scenes (Moritaten-Gluckwunsch-Geschichte). The tradition of creating historical murder ballad pictures has not only been preserved for several centuries, but has reached almost the present. It has a noticeable influence on German artistic phenomena of the 20th century - a cabaret, avant-garde theater and an author's song.

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