Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix is a German painter and print-maker from the Expressionism and Dadaism movement. He was a student of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, from 1906 to 1910. In 1914 the First World War broke out, and he volunteered to join the German Army, servicing in the artillery regiment in Dresden at 23 years old. During his pilot-training, he was wounded in the neck. He was discharged from the army due to the medical results of the accident, and he returned home just in time for Christmas in 1918.
The involvement with the army heavily impacted Otto Dix, but it shaped who he was as an artist. The witnessing of brutality and casualties would later influence the grotesque style of his artwork. He was deeply affected by the traumatic experience, that propelled him to create a series called “The War” (German: Der Krieg). It is a collection of 50 vivid drypoint etchings
Otto Dix became associated with an artistic movement called “New Objectivity” (Neue Sachlichkeit) alongside George Grosz, and Kath Kollwitz. This group was shaped through Germany’s political uprising and aftermath of Worl War 1. Otto shifted away from expressionism and embraced “realism” as a way to visually portray the harsh realities of the controlling German society. He became more interested in the raw and objective world.
“The War” (German: Der Krieg)
Skin Gaft (transplantation) 1925
Gas victims 1924
Toter (St Clement)
The Skat Players 1920
There’s a lot of context going on here. This painting I find very interesting, understanding his the background of Germany during 1920. The card players look like they’re war generals or soldiers, their faces are distorted and their limbs look mechanical, it’s as if they are no longer human, and they have no conscience. The middle figure definitely looks like he’s lost his mind. What I noticed is the cramped and busy composition with lots of overlapping that resembles a collage. It looks as though they are gambling, this could possibly symbolize greed and exploitation that was taking place in Germany.
Mother with Child 1920
What I love about Otto’s work is taking realistic depictions into caricatures, it makes his subjects look more endearing. Although his style of painting was heavily influenced by the raw and objective world. What I see in this painting looks like a gaunt sleepless mother with jaundice skin. She looks very pale with hints of yellow and green. Their skin almost looks metallic, it almost resembles something robotic. The mother looks dead inside, and her eyes look exhausted, however, there seems to be a sense of hope and optimism as she clutches onto her baby.
Sex Murder (lustmord) 1922
Umm, ok I am not sure where, to begin with, this drawing. It is very hard to look at and it leaves you speechless. This drawing truly breaks my heart, I feel extremely sad and depressed seeing how completely lifeless the female left behind with her limbs hanging. It is evident that she was brutally attacked from the mouth and genitalia. It could be going too far to show this graphic image but the reason why I wanted to include this one is that I find it compelling to wonder why would anyone draw this? I feel like this piece captures the deranged mind that left him psychologically damaged after the war. Apparently, this is just one of the many drawings that are similar to this. My question is, why are there so many of these, and what was his rationale?
sehnsucht (selbstbildnis)
This painting looks like it was inspired by African masks, I find this one very neat and endearing. The small faces on the leaves almost went unnoticed. This is definitely one of his more light-hearted works. I admire the shapes and bold colors, as well as the moon and sun. Otto Dix has a very distinctive style, but I decided to gather paintings that looked very different from one another because it shows the versatility in his work. It’s surprising that all of these were created by one person. It’s like he’s interchangeable with his style and his subjects.
link sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Dix
photo sources:
Michelle,
I already commented on your fine work in the PK on Dix which was fleshed out from your blog post here. Nice solid information and personal thoughts and insights. All round excellent work. I look forward to your final post.
Jeff