Selbstporträt mit Affen (Geliebte Vorväter), Maria Lassnig
Maria Lassnig
Selbstporträt mit Affen (Geliebte Vorväter)
DE
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Maria Lassnig

Selbstporträt mit Affen (Geliebte Vorväter), 2001


Dimensions
125.0 x 100.0 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
SG 1286
Acquisition
Acquired in 2005 with support from Margarethe and Gustav Kober, Frankfurt am Main, and the Stadtwerke Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main.
Status
Not on display

Texts

About the Work

Maria Lassnig portrays herself mercilessly as an old woman with bony shoulders and hollow cheeks. She looks questioningly at the viewer, while the monkey on her lap ruffles its hair. The monkey has various art-historical connotations. It stands for vanity, but also for the artist's skills as an imitator. Lassnig takes a decided stand against the artistic techniques of reproduction such as photorealistic painting. Instead, she interprets feelings, imaginative images and body awareness pictorially. In this self-portrait, the monkey becomes the artist's alter ego and reflects her inner processes.

About the Acquisition

Margarethe and Gustav Kober provide generous aid to numerous cultural organisations in Frankfurt. In addition to the Städel, the Kobers support – among others – the Historisches Museum, the Jüdisches Museum and the Museum für Moderne Kunst in a great variety of ways.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Selbstporträt mit Affen (Geliebte Vorväter) (Original Title)
Title Translation
Self-Portrait with Monkey (beloved forefathers)
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Administration
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
© Maria Lassnig Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023
Acquisition
Acquired in 2005 with support from Margarethe and Gustav Kober, Frankfurt am Main, and the Stadtwerke Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main.

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 48C513(+2) portrait, self-portrait of painter (+ artist in non-work situation)
  • 61BB2(LASSNIG, Maria) historical person (LASSNIG, Maria) - BB - woman
  • 13A13 meeting one's other self, 'alter ego'
  • 25F22(+1) monkeys, apes (+ animals used symbolically)
  • 34 man and animal
Secondary
  • 51A51 Interior, Interiority

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Last update

15.05.2023