Head of Christ, 1980

Blatt: 392 x 296 mm

Physical Description: Brush in grey and black, watercolour in greyish and reddish brown and blue, wax crayon in black, traces of scratching and incisions, stylus lines on black-and-white photograph

Inventory Number: SG 3395

Object Number: SG 3395 Z

Status: Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

Arnulf Rainer increasingly widened the lines of his Centralizations (to the right) to the point where they merged to form solid zones of colour. He initially covered his own works with them and referred to the results as “obscurations” or “overdrawings”. In 1977 he began overdrawing photographs of death masks, later those of faces and, as in this work, depictions of the countenance of Christ. He shrouded the visage of the Crucified One in circular strokes, nearly obliterating it, while at the same time emphasizing the head form and some of the conspicuous features of the face, so that the latter remains recognizable as such. Through obscuration it has been transformed into a new picture.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Head of Christ

Draughtsman

Arnulf Rainer

Period Produced

20th century

Object Type

drawing

Physical Description: Brush in grey and black, watercolour in greyish and reddish brown and blue, wax crayon in black, traces of scratching and incisions, stylus lines on black-and-white photograph

Material

Technique

Geographic Reference

German

Production Reason

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Signiert unten rechts (mit Bleistift): A Rainer

Captions Added Later: Verso Stempel der Städtischen Galerie, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2371c)

Watermark

Nicht vorhanden

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Departement

Department of Prints and Drawings

Collection

Städtische Galerie

Creditline: Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Picture Copyright: © Arnulf Rainer

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

Main Motif

Persons Shown

Jesus Christ

Iconclass

Primary

0 Abstract, Non-representational Art
11D3 Christ as adult
31A221(+1) head (human) (+ front view)
22C4(BLACK) colours, pigments, and paints: black

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History: Kunsthandel Deutschland

erworben von der Städtischen Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, 1988.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known: