Object number2013.25.2

Männerbildnis (Portrait of a Man) [Self-Portrait]

Date1919

Artist Erich Heckel (German, 1883 - 1970)

Publisher Graphisches Kabinett J. B. Neumann (Berlin, 1910 - 1923)

CultureGerman

MediumColor woodcut on cream laid paper

DimensionsImage: 18 1/4 x 12 13/16 in. (46.4 x 32.5 cm)
Sheet: 23 1/8 x 18 1/4 in. (58.7 x 46.4 cm)
Matted: 28 x 22 in. (71.1 x 55.9 cm)
Mount: 26 1/4 x 19 1/2 in. (66.7 x 49.5 cm)
Plate mark: 20 1/4 x 15 in. (51.4 x 38.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Lynn G. Straus, class of 1946

Period20th c

Classification(s)

SignedOn recto, signed lower right corner in pencil: Erich Heckel

InscribedOn recto, lower left corner in pencil: [illegible] / -männerbildnis-. On recto, lower right corner in pencil: [signature] 19. On verso, lower left corner in pencil: 1620125.

Catalogue raisonnéDube 318 III.bBibliographyReinhold, Heller. Brücke: German expressionist prints from the Granvil and Marcia Specks Collection. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University, Mary and Leigh Block Gallery, 1988, cat. 39

Vassar Exhibitions

An Era of Opportunity: Three Decades of Acquisitions

A Living Legacy: Gifts from Lynn Gross Straus

Exhibition HistoryAn Era of Opportunity: Three Decades of Acquisitions, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY, April 26 - September 8, 2019

Label TextErich Heckel conveys a sense of melancholy amid a moment of deep contemplation in this self-portrait from 1919. The highly pensive pose with exaggerated proportions and angular reflects the impact of social changes following the end of World War I. His depiction of intense emotions heightens the connection between tumultuous social unrest and emotional fatigue. While the abundance of optimism that resulted from the end of the war inspired some artists at this time, Heckel focused instead on the doubts and distress of the period. By brushing the ink onto the woodblock, rather than applying it with a roller, he created a more textured surface that echoes the emotional complexity of the composition.

DescriptionA bust portrait of a man with disproportionate facial features and long, bony fingers, set in an abstracted two-color background. As he gases to the left with hands clasped at his chin, the man is deep in thought.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu