Munich, 1918. In his Bavarian studio, Georg Schrimpf turns his gaze upon the writer Oskar Maria Graf. The painter takes up his brush to immortalize this young rebel intellectual in a work that would mark German New Objectivity.
A Portrait of Pure Lines
Schrimpf constructs a rigorously geometric composition. The sitter stands facing the viewer, hands resting on a bright red table. His brown suit with simplified volumes dialogues with a deep blue hat that crowns his head. The facial features are stylized, almost sculpted in pictorial matter. The artist applies oil in sober flat areas, eliminating superfluous details. Behind the figure, a cubist city fragments into colored planes. This canvas reveals a precise technique where each form finds its place in the overall balance.
Between Tradition and Modernity
This work was born in the aftermath of World War I, a period of profound upheaval in Germany. Schrimpf belongs to the New Objectivity movement, which rejected emotional Expressionism to recover formal clarity. He borrows from Italian Quattrocento art its constructive rigor while integrating Cubist achievements in the treatment of space. Graf, an anarchist and pacifist writer, perfectly embodies the contradictions of this era.
Georg Schrimpf’s Journey
A self-taught artist, Schrimpf (1889-1938) discovered painting late in life. He frequented Munich’s avant-garde artistic circles and developed a refined style, diametrically opposed to Expressionist agitation. His portraits combine monumentality and psychological introspection, characteristics visible in this representation of Graf.
A Question for You
💭 Observe the painting: how does Schrimpf create a subtle visual tension?
About This Work
- Oskar Maria Graf
- Georg Schrimpf
- 1918
- Oil on canvas
- 65.2 x 47 cm
- Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau Munich
- https://www.lenbachhaus.de/en/digital/collection-online/detail/oskar-maria-graf-30014201
