Museum Visit
Museum Visit
May 12, 2022
Portrait of Dr. Haustein
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| Portrait of Dr. Haustein 1928 Oil on Canvas Christian Schad |
The work I chose from the Thyssen - Bornemisza Museum was the Portrait of Dr. Haustein produced 1928 by Christian Schad. The painting is an Oil on canvas depicting the Dermatologist Dr. Haustein with what is believed to be the shadow of his wife in the background.
While living in Berlin during the 1920-1930's Schad would spend a great deal of time engrossing himself in the nightlife of berlin. This led him to gathering places of the wealthy elite and some of the most prestigious people in Berlin. One of which was Dr. Haustein's salons. Christian Schad would describe and remember the salon as "Extreme intellectual and erotic license, typical of 1920's Berlin"(Schad, 1928). This led to the Portrait being created for the owner Dr. Haustein.
The painting aside from denotations from Rapheal also followed the "New objectivity" and realism movement that swept through Berlin in the 1920's and 30's. His Portraits would reflect both of these movements and would be his greatest and most memorable works in his lifetime.
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Christian Schad |
Further Research
Christian Shads time in Berlin was part of his later mature years at which his movement to making Portraits also showed the influence of Berlins "New objectivity Movement", "Realism", and "New Women" movement. His Portraits were those of the many characters he encountered in Berlins nightlife. Aside from the Portrait of Dr. Haustein, another portrait that reflects Berlins influence on Schad was the Portrait of Eva Von Arnheim. Her portrait also exhibits that of Berlins New objectivity and realism, but the "New Women" movement going through Europe and especially Berlin.The New Women movement began when European women were given the right to vote. In Berlin this sparked a change in how women dressed, acted, and portrayed themselves. This is especially present in the Portrait of Eva Von Arnheim, it shows a change in traditional roles of femineity. "Her masculine hair style, lack of make-up, daringly low-cut dress looked like calculated affronts to traditional gender notions of femininity" (Waldmen,1). These changes and movements were most pronounced in the nightlife of Berlin as seen in Dr. Haustein's Salon. Christian Schad's portrait paintings encapsulate the growing movements of change in the culture of Berlin and Europe as a whole. Overall, Christain Schad's greatest and most notable works were his portraits made in his stay in Berlin, these works show the gradually change in artistry and culture within Berlins night life and Greater social change in Europe as a whole.
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| Portrait of Eva Von Arnheim 1930 oil on canvas Christian Schad |
Personal thoughts on the work
From my original thoughts from when I first studied this image to after, when I had done my research on the work and artist have both drastically changed. AT first glance the work was bright but had an unsettling tone to its depiction. Especially from the shadow of the women smoking. But the style of art reminded me of classical artists from the renaissance.
After doing further research on the history of the painting and artist I found that the work was based on classical brush styles from painters from the renaissance and that this and other works from him depict the social change and lifestyle of nighttime Berlin. These works not only emit to me a modern tone using classical rooms but also tell the history of a city post WW1 and how the elite men and women carried themselves in this nightlife culture.
Although I wasn't able to do an in-person museum visit I found the virtual experience to be both fun and enjoyable. To still be able to experience and learn about artists and their works from around the world from my chair at home was a new experience I never really knew or thought about. Overall, those makes me want to visit an art museum in person again when I can spare the time and also encourage others to go in person or online to experience the culture and history of the art all around us.
Works Cited
Waldman, Louis. “An Anagrammatic Attribute: Christian Schad's Portrait of Eva Von Arnheim.” The Burlington Magazine, vol. 135, no. 1081, Apr. 1993, pp. 276–277.
“The 1920s – Cultural Life in Berlin.” VisitBerlin.de, https://www.visitberlin.de/en/1920s-cultural-life-berlin.
“Christian Schad Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/schad-christian/.
Schad, Christian. “Portrait of Dr. Haustein.” Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/schad-christian/portrait-dr-haustein.
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