Köpfe, Otto Dix
Otto Dix
Köpfe
DE
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Otto Dix

Köpfe, 1923


Blatt
334 x 505 mm
Physical Description
Watercolour and pen in black on wove paper (rough watercolour paper)
Inventory Number
17886
Object Number
17886 Z
Acquisition
Acquired in 2019 as a bequest from Ulrike Crespo from the Karl Ströher Collection
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

In this watercolour, Dix grouped six very different heads in an arrangement more dissociated than scenic. Here the artist described anonymous city dwellers with a few lines and above all with colour. The transparent hues blend and fray at the edges, seemingly unchecked by any structure—and nevertheless form curls of hair, hats, ruddy cheeks, and red lips. The spots of blank paper representing the whites of the eyes flash out here and there. Dix accorded equal status to watercolours and oils. In Düsseldorf between 1922 and 1925, he executed many likenesses in this technique, demonstrating a fine sensibility for colouristic effects.

About the Acquisition

The Städel Museum has the photographer, psychotherapist, philanthropist, and long-time Frankfurt resident Ulrike Crespo (1950–2019) to thank for more than ninety works ranging from classical modernism to American pop art. The paintings, drawings, and prints by Wassily Kandinsky, Otto Dix, Oskar Schlemmer, Max Ernst, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly, and others originally belonged to the holdings of her grandfather, the Darmstadt-based industrialist Karl Ströher (1890–1977), who amassed an extensive art collection after World War II.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Köpfe (Original Title)
Title Translation
Heads
Draughtsman
Period Produced
Object Type
Physical Description
Watercolour and pen in black on wove paper (rough watercolour paper)
Material
Technique
Geographic Reference
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert unten rechts (mit Bleistift): Dix; nummeriert oben links: 313
Verso betitelt unten links (mit Bleistift): Köpfe
Captions Added Later
Bezeichnet unten rechts (mit Bleistift): Dix [?]; nummeriert darüber: 40 [im Kreis]
Watermark
  • Nicht vorhanden
Work Catalogues
  • Pfäffle A 1923/145

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024
Acquisition
Acquired in 2019 as a bequest from Ulrike Crespo from the Karl Ströher Collection

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 61B113(+51) anonymous historical persons portrayed in a group, in a group-portrait (+ head (and shoulders) (portrait))
  • 61BB113(+51) anonymous historical persons portrayed in a group, in a group-portrait - BB - woman (+ head (and shoulders) (portrait))
  • 31A221 head (human)
  • 31D15 adult woman
  • 31D14 adult man
Secondary

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Otto Dix (1891-1969)
Galerie Nierendorf, Berlin, 1924
zurück an Otto Dix, 11. Mai 1926
zur Ansicht an die Galerie Johanna Ey, Düsseldorf, 27. November 1926
[Wilhelm Fähler (1889-1953), Leverkusen?]
Privatbesitz, Leverkusen
Verst. Kunstkabinett R. N. Ketterer (20. Auktion), Stuttgart, an Wilhelm Buller (1892-1955), Duisburg, 24.-26. November 1954 (Los-Nr. 1028)
Verst. Kunstkabinett R. N. Ketterer (30. Auktion), Stuttgart, an Karl Ströher (1890-1977), Darmstadt, 26./27. November 1957 (Los 237)
Nachlass Karl Ströher, 1977
an seine Enkelin Ulrike Crespo (1950-2019), Frankfurt am Main
Vermächtnis an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 2019.

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:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

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Last update

25.04.2024