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Auction archive: Lot number 9

'Frauenkopf' (Kopf einer Dirne)

Opening
€18,000
ca. US$20,816
Price realised:
n. a.
Auction archive: Lot number 9

'Frauenkopf' (Kopf einer Dirne)

Opening
€18,000
ca. US$20,816
Price realised:
n. a.
Beschreibung:

Otto Dix (1891 Gera - 1969 Singen) (F)'Frauenkopf' (Kopf einer Dirne), Aquarell und Tusche auf Papier, 1925, 39,5 cm x 30 cm Blattmaß, signiert, verso 'Frauenkopf unverkäuflich' bezeichnet, Bleistiftskizze, Halbfigur eines Mannes und Säule, Maße ca. 14,5 cm x 17 cm, leicht gewellt, Papier an den Seiten minimal berieben, verso Montierungsrückstände, Provenienz: Hauswedell & Nolte 1975; Ketterer 1978; Hauswedell & Nolte 1979; Privatsammlung Hannover (auf Anfrage), Literatur: Wvz. Pfäffle A 1925/7, S. 204; Zürich 1929, Nr. 32; Berlin 1961, Nr 58; München 1970, Nr. 23; Paris 1970, Nr. 39; Essen 1961, Nr. 122, Rom 1972, Nr. 122; Wien 1974, Nr. 92; Barton 1981, S. 151, VIII B; "Die Idee des Bildes ist, die Prostitution in ihrer ganzen grauenhaften und entmenschenden Wirkung wahrheitsgemäß darzustellen, als gesellschaftliches Übel zu geißeln und ihre für Körper und Geist verheerenden Folgen überzeugend zu schildern." (Otto Dix in einer Einlassung vor Gericht 1923, zit. n.: Schmidt, Diether: Otto Dix im Selbstbildnis, Berlin 1981, S. 202.)

Otto Dix (1891 Gera - 1969 Singen) (F)
'Frauenkopf' (Head of a prostitute), watercolour and Indian ink on paper, 1925, sheet size 39.5 cm x 30 cm, signed, inscribed on the reverse 'Frauenkopf unverkäuflich' and with pencil sketches of a male figure and a column, dimensions ca. 14.5 cm x 17 cm, slightly cockled, edges of the paper slightly worn, with remnants of former mounting on the reverse, provenance: Hauswedell & Nolte 1975; Ketterer 1978; Hauswedell & Nolte 1979; private collection, Hanover (upon request); literature: Cat. rais. Pfäffle A 1925/7, p. 204, Zurich 1929, no. 32; Berlin 1961, no. 58; Munich 1970, no. 23; Paris 1970, no. 39; Essen 1961, no. 122, Rome 1972, no. 122; Vienna 1974, no. 92; Barton 1981, p. 151, VIII B 9. ''The idea of the painting is to truthfully depict prostitution in all its gruesome and dehumanizing effects, to castigate it as a social evil, and to convincingly portray its consequences, which are devastating to body and mind.'' (Otto Dix in an admission in court in 1923, quoted in: Schmidt, Diether: Otto Dix im Selbstbildnis, Berlin 1981, p. 202.) Otto Dix was born on 2nd December 1891 in Untermhaus (now Gera) and was one of the most influential German painters and graphic artists of the 20th century. Dix, who grew up in humble circumstances, was particularly influenced by his mother's early artistic interest. His talent was recognized and encouraged even in his school years. Following an apprenticeship as a decorative painter with Carl Senff, he received a scholarship to study at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts from 1910 to 1914 under Richard Guhr and Johann Nikolaus Türk. In 1914 Dix volunteered for military service and continued his studies in Dresden after the end of the war. In 1919 Dix co-founded the ''Dresden Secession Group 1919''. A year later he met George Grosz and participated in the ''First International Dada Fair'' in Berlin. In 1922, as a master student at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, he joined the avant garde circle around the gallery owner Johanna Ey (''Mother Ey''), and the artists' group ''Das Junge Rheinland''. In 1924 he joined the ''Berlin Secession.'' In the 1920s, Dix developed an increasingly realistic style of representation in his works, with which he relentlessly depicted people and everyday life, thus critically addressing the social and human aftermath of the war. From 1927 to 1933 Dix taught as a professor at the Art Academy in Dresden. Defamed by the National Socialists, Dix lost his professorship and withdrew completely to southern Germany. There he devoted himself to landscape painting and allegorical themes, but was never again able to achieve the power of his works from the 1920s. Like George Grosz Otto Dix as a painter of social life in the metropolis, was inevitably confronted with the problem of prostitution. Prostitutes as a group, which he usually referred to derogatively in his paintings, were both socially ostracised and socially relevant, especially in the post-war years during the Weimar Republic. Dix, who lived in German metropolises in the 1920s, had ample opportunities to get to know the milieu. It is striking that Dix depicted wives and mothers as beautiful women, while prostitutes appear ugly, worn out, emaciated and heavily made up. The ''woman's head'' mercilessly portrays a bony, angular figure, the face is frozen into a mask under the white face powder and copious rouge, lipstick and eyeshadow. The unkempt, straggly hair flowing down around the face, the low forehead, the protruding chin and the overemphasized thickness of the lips give the countenance a primordial or animalistic quality. In depicting the subject of the harlot, Dix aimed to reduce taboos around the sexual. The artist's interest in the motif stems from his own libidinousness, so Dix paints his own experiences and not mere objects. He does not condemn his models, but provides them with visibility as a new social class, which must have seemed like a provocation to the bourgeois public, which he identifies as the secret beneficiary of this social situation. It is therefore not surprising that gallery owners and museum directors such as Ludwig Justi and Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub did not want to exhibit them and in 1923, Dix even had to stand trial for these ''indecent'' works.

Auction archive: Lot number 9
Auction:
Datum:
4 Dec 2021, 14:00
Auction house:
WETTMANN Kunstauktionen
Bredeneyer Straße 119-121
45133 Essen
Germany
info@wettmann.com
+49 (0)201 85785190
+49 (0)208 4391735
Beschreibung:

Otto Dix (1891 Gera - 1969 Singen) (F)'Frauenkopf' (Kopf einer Dirne), Aquarell und Tusche auf Papier, 1925, 39,5 cm x 30 cm Blattmaß, signiert, verso 'Frauenkopf unverkäuflich' bezeichnet, Bleistiftskizze, Halbfigur eines Mannes und Säule, Maße ca. 14,5 cm x 17 cm, leicht gewellt, Papier an den Seiten minimal berieben, verso Montierungsrückstände, Provenienz: Hauswedell & Nolte 1975; Ketterer 1978; Hauswedell & Nolte 1979; Privatsammlung Hannover (auf Anfrage), Literatur: Wvz. Pfäffle A 1925/7, S. 204; Zürich 1929, Nr. 32; Berlin 1961, Nr 58; München 1970, Nr. 23; Paris 1970, Nr. 39; Essen 1961, Nr. 122, Rom 1972, Nr. 122; Wien 1974, Nr. 92; Barton 1981, S. 151, VIII B; "Die Idee des Bildes ist, die Prostitution in ihrer ganzen grauenhaften und entmenschenden Wirkung wahrheitsgemäß darzustellen, als gesellschaftliches Übel zu geißeln und ihre für Körper und Geist verheerenden Folgen überzeugend zu schildern." (Otto Dix in einer Einlassung vor Gericht 1923, zit. n.: Schmidt, Diether: Otto Dix im Selbstbildnis, Berlin 1981, S. 202.)

Otto Dix (1891 Gera - 1969 Singen) (F)
'Frauenkopf' (Head of a prostitute), watercolour and Indian ink on paper, 1925, sheet size 39.5 cm x 30 cm, signed, inscribed on the reverse 'Frauenkopf unverkäuflich' and with pencil sketches of a male figure and a column, dimensions ca. 14.5 cm x 17 cm, slightly cockled, edges of the paper slightly worn, with remnants of former mounting on the reverse, provenance: Hauswedell & Nolte 1975; Ketterer 1978; Hauswedell & Nolte 1979; private collection, Hanover (upon request); literature: Cat. rais. Pfäffle A 1925/7, p. 204, Zurich 1929, no. 32; Berlin 1961, no. 58; Munich 1970, no. 23; Paris 1970, no. 39; Essen 1961, no. 122, Rome 1972, no. 122; Vienna 1974, no. 92; Barton 1981, p. 151, VIII B 9. ''The idea of the painting is to truthfully depict prostitution in all its gruesome and dehumanizing effects, to castigate it as a social evil, and to convincingly portray its consequences, which are devastating to body and mind.'' (Otto Dix in an admission in court in 1923, quoted in: Schmidt, Diether: Otto Dix im Selbstbildnis, Berlin 1981, p. 202.) Otto Dix was born on 2nd December 1891 in Untermhaus (now Gera) and was one of the most influential German painters and graphic artists of the 20th century. Dix, who grew up in humble circumstances, was particularly influenced by his mother's early artistic interest. His talent was recognized and encouraged even in his school years. Following an apprenticeship as a decorative painter with Carl Senff, he received a scholarship to study at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts from 1910 to 1914 under Richard Guhr and Johann Nikolaus Türk. In 1914 Dix volunteered for military service and continued his studies in Dresden after the end of the war. In 1919 Dix co-founded the ''Dresden Secession Group 1919''. A year later he met George Grosz and participated in the ''First International Dada Fair'' in Berlin. In 1922, as a master student at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, he joined the avant garde circle around the gallery owner Johanna Ey (''Mother Ey''), and the artists' group ''Das Junge Rheinland''. In 1924 he joined the ''Berlin Secession.'' In the 1920s, Dix developed an increasingly realistic style of representation in his works, with which he relentlessly depicted people and everyday life, thus critically addressing the social and human aftermath of the war. From 1927 to 1933 Dix taught as a professor at the Art Academy in Dresden. Defamed by the National Socialists, Dix lost his professorship and withdrew completely to southern Germany. There he devoted himself to landscape painting and allegorical themes, but was never again able to achieve the power of his works from the 1920s. Like George Grosz Otto Dix as a painter of social life in the metropolis, was inevitably confronted with the problem of prostitution. Prostitutes as a group, which he usually referred to derogatively in his paintings, were both socially ostracised and socially relevant, especially in the post-war years during the Weimar Republic. Dix, who lived in German metropolises in the 1920s, had ample opportunities to get to know the milieu. It is striking that Dix depicted wives and mothers as beautiful women, while prostitutes appear ugly, worn out, emaciated and heavily made up. The ''woman's head'' mercilessly portrays a bony, angular figure, the face is frozen into a mask under the white face powder and copious rouge, lipstick and eyeshadow. The unkempt, straggly hair flowing down around the face, the low forehead, the protruding chin and the overemphasized thickness of the lips give the countenance a primordial or animalistic quality. In depicting the subject of the harlot, Dix aimed to reduce taboos around the sexual. The artist's interest in the motif stems from his own libidinousness, so Dix paints his own experiences and not mere objects. He does not condemn his models, but provides them with visibility as a new social class, which must have seemed like a provocation to the bourgeois public, which he identifies as the secret beneficiary of this social situation. It is therefore not surprising that gallery owners and museum directors such as Ludwig Justi and Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub did not want to exhibit them and in 1923, Dix even had to stand trial for these ''indecent'' works.

Auction archive: Lot number 9
Auction:
Datum:
4 Dec 2021, 14:00
Auction house:
WETTMANN Kunstauktionen
Bredeneyer Straße 119-121
45133 Essen
Germany
info@wettmann.com
+49 (0)201 85785190
+49 (0)208 4391735
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