Christian Schad (1894-1982) was a leading figure of the Neue Sachlichkeit group. His sharp-focused, mysteriously erotic portraits epitomize the decadent glamour of the Weimar era. Considered as a group, Schad’s portraits form an extraordinary record of life in Vienna and Berlin in the years following World War I. Yet even when his paintings are apparently at their most objective, there is nevertheless a complex theater of illusion at play.
The men and women he portrayed in the nightclubs and fairgrounds of the city reflect his interest in exotic figures, as well as his ability to convey erotic longing. After the crash of the New York stock market in 1929, Schad could no longer rely on his father’s financial support, and he largely stopped painting in the early 1930s. Yet his Schadographs and portraits remain landmarks in the history of twentieth-century art.
[from Neue Galerie]
Christian Schad (1894-1982) was a leading figure of the Neue Sachlichkeit group. His sharp-focused, mysteriously erotic portraits epitomize the decadent glamour of the Weimar era. Considered as a group, Schad’s portraits form an extraordinary record of life in Vienna and Berlin in the years following World War I. Yet even when his paintings are apparently at their most objective, there is nevertheless a complex theater of illusion at play.
The men and women he portrayed in the nightclubs and fairgrounds of the city reflect his interest in exotic figures, as well as his ability to convey erotic longing. After the crash of the New York stock market in 1929, Schad could no longer rely on his father’s financial support, and he largely stopped painting in the early 1930s. Yet his Schadographs and portraits remain landmarks in the history of twentieth-century art.
[from Neue Galerie]
