Dix, OttoPortrait of a man. 1932. Red chalk drawing... Lot 1474

Dix, OttoPortrait of a man. 1932. Red chalk drawing on tracing paper. 46 x 35.3 cm. Signed. Mounted in spots on support, matted and framed under glass. - With a short, professionally restored marginal tear. Slight creases and handling marks in places. The paper with barely noticeable brown stains. Traces of mounting from verso to recto showing through. Good overall. Classical art Dix, Otto Portrait of a man. 1932. Red chalk drawing on tracing paper. 46 x 35.3 cm. Signed. Mounted in spots on support, matted and framed under glass. - With a short, professionally restored marginal tear. Slight creases and handling marks in places. The paper with barely noticeable brown stains. Traces of mounting from verso to recto showing through. Good overall. Lorenz NSk (vol. 3) 10.1.22. - Cf. Löffler 1932/ 16 (motif) and Lorenz NSk 10.2.13. - The present red chalk drawing is a detail replica after the painting of the same name "Bildnis Geheimrat X" (Lorenz NSk 10.2.13), mixed media on firm drawing paper from 1932. - Stylistically, the work belongs to Otto Dix's New Objectivity phase, which is dated from 1924 - 1933. During this period, he excelled particularly in the genre of portraits and captured the spirit of the Weimar Republic with his depictions of bohemians and the intelligentsia. It is striking that Dix's drawings from this phase still contain echoes of reality and Verism, whereas he had already completely abandoned them in his paintings. In this sense, the present work, with its almost classical manner in red chalk and confident, detailed strokes, depicts the Privy Councillor with a severity and dignity befitting his status. The drawing demonstrates the artist's high level of comprehension: "There is no doubt that no other artist in Germany in those years was able to create portraits of similar precision in capturing the physiognomic." (Cited in: Löffler, Otto Dix. Leben und Werk, p. 84. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1960). Red chalk drawing on tracing paper. Signed. Spot-mounted to mat, presented in passepartout and framed under glass. - With a short, expertly restored marginal tear. Some slight traces of creasing and handling. The paper with little noticeable brown stains. The traces of mounting from verso recto shining through. All in all good. - Stylistically, the work is part of Otto Dix's New Objectivity phase, which is considered to have lasted from 1924 to 1933. During this period, he excelled particularly in the genre of portraits and captured the spirit of the Weimar Republic with his depictions of the bohemians and the intelligentsia. It is striking that in Dix's drawings from this phase, echoes of reality and verism can still be found, while he had already completely abandoned them in his painting. In this sense, the present work appears almost classical in its red chalk and confident, detailed stroke, depicting the Privy Councillor in austerity and dignity befitting his status.