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Portrait of a Woman

1923
(German, 1891–1969)
Germany, 20th century
lithograph
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1954.349
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Catalogue raisonné: Karsch 62
Location: not on view
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

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Description

Otto Dix portrayed urban inhabitants in postwar Germany in a brutal and unforgiving manner. This woman is dressed in the finest fashions, her hair stylishly cropped and her outfit adorned with a fur collar and a heron-feathered hat. Yet her mouth has been slashed into a grotesque smile, a sign of a vicious attack that was commonly carried out by street gangs, particularly on prostitutes. Dix mercilessly satirized postwar society with images of prostitutes bloated from the profits of their own commerce—among the many bodies victimized by the moral and physical corruption of war.
Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Woman

1923

Otto Dix

(German, 1891–1969)
Germany, 20th century

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