Oskar SchlemmerGerman, 1888–1943Play with Heads
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Variations on a theme, this rare set of prints explores diverse arrangements of three heads. Each image uses a single color and was printed in a spatter technique first used in the 19th century by French lithographers like Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. By drawing a blade across a toothbrush saturated with lithographic ink, the ink is spattered onto the lithographic stone in a random pattern of variously sized dots. By controlling the fine spray of droplets, transparent forms and a wide tonal range can be obtained. Unlike his contemporaries, El Lissitzky, Lázló Moholy-Nagy, and Kurt Schwitters, whose work focused only on abstraction, Schlemmer was intensely interested in the human form. He once said, however, that he was "interested in creating human types, not portraits." Thus he did not portray specific individuals, but prototypes for a purified, timeless image of humanity.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 2000.120
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
Meanwhile, in the life of Oskar Schlemmer
The whole life1920–1928
Employed by: Bauhaus
1920–1929
Develops the course “Der Mensch”
During his Bauhaus years Schlemmer develops the multidisciplinary course “Der Mensch” (The Human Being): in the human form he saw a measure that could provide a foothold in the disunity of his time.
17 September 1921
Daughter born: Karin Schlemmer
1922
Daughter born: Ute-Jaïna Schlemmer
1923
Takes over the theatre workshop from Lothar Schreyer
In 1923 Schlemmer becomes Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, taking it over from Lothar Schreyer. His complex ideas prove influential, making him one of the most important teachers at the school at that time.
1923
The influence of Metaphysical painting
From 1923 Schlemmer’s style is strongly influenced by Metaphysical painting (Pittura Metafisica): the number of figures in his pictures noticeably decreases, and they are arranged on a clearly divided surface in a choreographic order that reflects universal harmony. The National Gallery in Berlin and the Folkwang Museum in Essen acquire works from this period, and recognition and fame come to the artist.
