Reimers, Anne K.;
(2020)
Otto Dix Recontextualised: Temporality, Medium-Specificity and Reproduction in the Portraits of the 1920s.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Otto Dix is seen as a leading figure of the Neue Sachlichkeit in painting in 1920s Germany, and he is without a doubt the most studied and exhibited today. Although his work was created in the context of a rapidly expanding media culture, aspects of the relationship of his verist-realist paintings to this historically specific environment have yet to receive sufficient scholarly attention. This study focuses on a small number of portrait paintings the artist created in the first half of the 1920s – some frequently discussed, others rarely mentioned or reproduced – and considers these works through the lenses of temporality, medium-specificity and reproduction. It will firstly investigate the way Dix engaged with fashion and celebrity culture; secondly how he responded to the challenge posed by photography and film; thirdly how he dealt with a situation where black-and-white reproductions were the most common way in which a diverse audience encountered his work; and finally the way in which Dix’s career development ran in parallel with the commentary on his work in journalistic and specialist media publications. Throughout the thesis, fashion in its different incarnations – as a temporal agent, artefact, and industry – is identified as an allegory, medium, agent of rupture, and directional force that connected Dix’s work in very specific ways to the visual culture of the 1920s. The thesis draws upon letters, a broad variety of contemporary publications, and specific statements Dix made in interviews, that have previously not been considered. While the writings of art critics are the main literary source, I will also consider how the artist’s output intersected with the concerns of leading cultural commentators and art historians of the time.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Otto Dix Recontextualised: Temporality, Medium-Specificity and Reproduction in the Portraits of the 1920s |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. - Third party copyright material has been removed from this e-thesis |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of History of Art |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10096645 |
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