Self-portrait with Nude Model
1923
OTTO DIX
NEUE GALLERY
I have spent days looking for wedding dresses now and I am feeling slightly disappointed, most of them look exactly the same and I am in one of the greatest capitals of Fashion! A sense of desperation is hitting me at this stage.... where is the perfect one for me? Will I have time to find it?
Monday afternoon I just dropped it all after trying stupendously expensive dresses at Bergdorf Goodman. (One have to try those as well:) and went to the Neue Gallery to see the Otto Dix exhibit.
That definitely took my mind of the dress for a couple of hours.
We started with his early etchings of war scenes. Deeply painful and revealing, especially Plate 39 out of 50 prints from Der Krieg, made me cry out "Look at this". Maybe because this one was about the people and not warriors? The brutal vulnerable dead nudity is horrifying and I am wondering; is there a baby sticking out of the belly at the bottom? Nightmarish!
Durch Fliegerbomben zerstortes Haus 1924
His brutality in the etchings reflects his anti-war opinions after his traumatic experiences from World War I.
Transport of the wounded in the Hothulster wood, 1924.
Later on his opinions made him quite unpopular under the new Hitler regime, he lost his right to teach Art in Dresden and ended up moving to Lake Constance (A gorgeous place that I visited a few years ago), where he was forced to paint only non-intrusive art.
Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber 1925
Otto Dix is famous for painting portraits using the aura of their personalities. Anita Berber was seen as virile to the extreme. She was known for walking around naked in a small corset or a sable fur with cocaine, alcohol and female lovers as her regular attire.
Portrait of Dr. Heinrich Stadelmann, 1922
I must say though, that I much rather want my aura to be painted red and vibrant than this poor green psychiatrist.
Semi-nude 1926
Otto Dix focuses strongly on female nudity and often rather large women with a bit of "sagging" breast and worn expressions. A rather sad unglamorous focus on the prostitutes world.
The Artist's Family 1927
He did paint his family as well. When I saw this painting in real what struck me the most was the confident and direct look his daughter has, like she could see straight through me.
If you have a chance to go to the Neue Gallery before the 30th of August, I would recommend it.
While you are there please save some time for cake at Cafe Sabarsky. They probably have the best cakes in Manhattan:) and it is a wonderful place to relax after all the impressions.
