Oberon (1. Orthodoxer Salon 64 - E. Neijsvestnij), Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz
Oberon (1. Orthodoxer Salon 64 - E. Neijsvestnij)
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Georg Baselitz

Oberon (1. Orthodoxer Salon 64 - E. Neijsvestnij), 1963 – 1964


Dimensions
250.0 x 200.0 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
2325
Acquisition
Acquired in 2010 as a gift from Dorette Hildebrand-Staab
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 21

Texts

About the Work

Against a dark reddish-brown background, four creatures crowd into the pictorial space, craning their long necks. Bald-headed, they grow into the picture like sprouts. They neither inhabit a perspectivally defined space nor do they participate in a pictorial narrative. The title, Oberon, points to the mythic king of the elves and fairies in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Oberon symbolizes an alternative world that is not part of everyday life – just like Baselitz’s painting, which does not depict the world around us but creates its own pictorial reality.

About the Acquisition

In 2010 the Städel Museum acquired four major works of contemporary German art thanks to a donation by Dorette Hildebrand-Staab. Despite the prevailing opinion at that time, the donor had recognised the significance of Georg Baselitz early on and she encouraged and supported the artist for many years. The four paintings which made their way into the Städel’s holdings through her gift had already been purchased by the patroness of the arts in the 1960s, in part from the artist himself.

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Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Oberon (1. Orthodoxer Salon 64 - E. Neijsvestnij) (Original Title)
Title Translation
Oberon
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert unten rechts: Baselitz

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Erworben 2010 als Schenkung von Dorette Hildebrand-Staab
Picture Copyright
© Georg Baselitz (Hans-Georg Kern)
Acquisition
Acquired in 2010 as a gift from Dorette Hildebrand-Staab

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif
Associated Persons and Institutions
Associated Source
  • Georg Baselitz und Eugen Schönebeck: Pandämonische Manifeste, 1961/1962
  • William Shakespeare: Ein Sommernachtstraum

Iconclass

Primary
Secondary
  • 42E3113 other kinds of grave-markers, e.g. cross

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Last update

24.11.2023