Female Self-Portrait (The Golem), 1921

ArtistGert H. Wollheim, Dresden 1894–1974 New York

Oil on canvas

(H x W)120,4 × 100,4 cm

Status

on display, room 021

About the workThis is one of Gert. H. Wollheim’s most provocative and enigmatic paintings. For a start, the artist has portrayed himself as a woman, albeit fragmentary and monstrous. Symbols such as the fish and the arrows are inspired by the surreal imagery of Max Ernst, but the influence of Spanish artist Francisco de Goya can likewise be detected. There is also a golem present, which in Jewish literature is an artificially formed creature with enormous strength. Traumatising experiences of war were mixed with erotic fantasies in Wollheim’s work, resulting in an incomparable painting.

AccessionAcquisition 1985

Provenance[...]; 1985 angekauft von der Galerie Remmert & Barth, Düsseldorf

Inventory number0.1985.11

Contact

sammlung@kunstpalast.de

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https://sammlung.kunstpalast.de/en/objects/41172/weibliches-selbstbildnis-der-golem

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