The Online Otto Dix Project

A German Artist and Print Maker
 

Portrait Of The Painter Franz Radziwill

Year: 1928

Description: During the 1920s, Dix did several self-portraits in which he is cast in the finest light, a worthy successor to the legacy of the finest German artists. Radziwill, on the other hand, did not receive such treatment. The German artist was one of several colleagues Dix painted during this period. He is a slack-jawed Low German compared to the heroic, almost Christ-like, Dix.

Dix was depicted well groomed and smartly dressed; his mannerisms were more manly then the man himself. In contrast, Radziwill is chubby and his features are rounded. Dix extracted all the testosterone from his body. His clothes are ill-fitting and his posture is poor. In Dix's hands he is a sorry figure.

One year after this painted was completed, Radziwill ended a five year hiatus from self-portraiture. Coincidence? Probably not. It was though he sought to correct the record. See: Self-Portrait With Red Vest.

Provenance: Museum Kunstpalast



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  • Sabrina Sohn

    I was wondering if the subject matter himself commissioned the artist to draw the doctor or not? thanks