George Grosz -- Pillars Of Society -- Oil on canvas -- 1926 -- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie

I'm probably in the company of many here in being familiar with this pictorial indictment of the capitalist Germany of the mid twenties.

I can't make up my mind whether the unforgettable imagery is or was politically effective as a powerful agent and sustainer of radicalization, or whether, on the other hand, it is or was so overwhelmingly and indiscriminately polemical as to leave viewers in a state of general disgust about their society and ultimately in a state of demobilising despair about the possibility of change for the better.

#Art #Painting #PoliticalArt
#GeorgeGrosz #GermanArt #20thCenturyArt #NeueSachlichkeit
#WeimarRepublic

Christian Schad -- Two Girls -- 1928 -- Oil on Canvas -- Private Collection

Another picture from the 2006 exhibition catalogue "Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s" that struck me was Christian Schad's 1928 "Two Girls".

The catalogue entry claims that the picture would "descend into gross pornography" were the figure in the foreground to be shown looking at the viewer.

Rather than enter into a moralistic and unproductive discussion of this claim, I would rather consider whether the picture shows a couple's intimacy or the self- absorption of two isolated individuals.

#Art #Painting #Portrait
#ChristianSchad #GermanArt #20thCenturyArt #NeueSachlichkeit
#Verism #Gay #Homosexual #Lesbian
#Masturbation #Pornography #WeimarRepublic

The Jeweller Karl Krall -- Otto Dix -- 1923 -- Oil on canvas -- Kunst und Museumsverien im Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal.

According to the 2006 exhibition catalogue "Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s", Krall was not only, as a chamber music amateur, musical, but was also "musical", to use the term used in 1920s British English to describe gay men.

The catalogue entry suggests that beneath Krall's jacket, "there must be a corset that is much too tight. Severe discomfort makes the blood rush to Krall's face, turning it purple-red with bluish accents. Veins on his forehead seem ready to pop."

As with so many of the other portraits, I find myself fascinated by this picture. Is Dix's depiction of the hour glass figured jeweller a frank depiction of Krall's style in foundation garments, or does it function as the painter's possibly contemptuous verdict on male homosexuality?

#Art #Painting #Portrait #OttoDix #GermanArt #20thCenturyArt #NeueSachlichkeit #KarlKrall #Gay #Homosexual #Homophobia #Corset #TightWaisting #WeimarRepublic

„Lyrik der Neuen Sachlichkeit" von Kästner, Kaléko und Tucholksy gibt es am 5.3. um 19:30 Uhr in Brühl zu erleben. Mein Vortrag „Lyrik für alle Lebenslagen" bietet kurze Infos zu den dreien und dann v. a. Gedichte.

#Brühl #Bonn #Hürth #Bornheim #Köln #Lesung #HauptsacheLyrik #ErichKästner #MaschaKaléko #KurtTucholsky #NeueSachlichkeit

https://brockmann-buecher.buchhandlung.de/shop/magazine/154890/05_03_heike_baller.html

Zwischen Fabrikhallen und Zukunftsträumen: Im LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn wird sichtbar, wie sich der Wandel der Arbeitswelt in der Kunst spiegelt. Von Breuers Kohlenmann bis zu Höchs Collagen – die Neue Sachlichkeit zwischen 1890 und 1940 als Dialog mit der Gegenwart.

#NeueSachlichkeit #Bonn #Moderne #OttoDix #Ausstellung
https://www.kunst-mag.de/2026/02/12/themenausstellung-in-bonn/