The Prints of Otto Dix (1891-1969)
Harbor View, 1922
Fine Art Reproduction
Reproduction Size: 14 x 11.5 inches
This reproduction is a new, individually printed and proofed, superior quality, giclee* process, fine art print.
It is printed on 100% cotton rag acid-free, heavyweight fine art paper with a luxurious textured watercolor paper finish and archival pigment inks to ensure permanence.
Created for collectors, it IS NOT A POSTER or mass produced print on low quality, inexpensive paper.
One of the unfortunate circumstances a defeated Germany was forced to deal with was the wide spread poverty thrust upon the surviving civilian population. Over 2.4 million German soldiers were killed creating a staggering large class of widows unable to support themselves. Desperate women of all ages - wives, children, mothers and even grandmothers turned to prostitution as their only means of survival. Brothels and streetwalkers of all ages and stripes filled German streets, docks and working districts. Women who were decrepit, old and ugly, fat or cadaverously thin turned to the oldest profession as a last and final resort.
By 1922 Berlin alone had a population of 100,000 prostitutes. Many of the older woman adapted to wearing a veil, known as a “widow’s veil” to cover and hide their heavily made up rouged faces. And with prostitution comes the curse of the parasitic, exploitive pimp who in every society and time lives off the misery of the woman he controls.
Otto Dix (1891-1969) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimer society, the brutality of war and its aftermath on the civilian population of Germany. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit.
Dix was profoundly affected by his experiences in the Great War of 1914-18. The sights he witnessed firsthand, he would later describe in a recurring nightmare in which he crawled through destroyed houses. He represented his traumatic experiences in many subsequent works, including a portfolio of fifty etchings called Der Krieg, published in 1924.
His depictions of legless and disfigured veterans—a common sight on Berlin's streets in the 1920s—unveil the ugly side of war and illustrate their forgotten status within contemporary German society. Equally important to his milieu was his portrayals of a post war and decadent society that established his fame. His art was extremely critical of contemporary German society and often dwelled on the act of Lustmord, or sexual murder. He drew attention to the bleaker side of life, unsparingly depicting the wide spread prostitution, violence, old age and death.
Original Medium: Watercolor on paper. Reproduction: Fine Art Paper, pigment colored inks
Image Size: 14 x 11.5 inches printed on larger paper to allow ample borders for matting and framing
Prints ship in a heavy protective cardboard tube.
**the giclee process produces a high quality, fine art reproduction from a high-resolution digital file of an image. The file is then printed with a high-resolution photo generation printer on a fine art paper. Most artists and working photographers today use the giclee process to produce reproductions of their original artwork and photographs.
As with any original art or fine art reproduction, it is recommended that prints are framed and displayed under glass to prevent color fade or shift over the years.
