The Pleading (Die Flehende), from O Eternity—thou thundering word (O Ewigkeit—du Donnerwort), Bach Cantata (Bachkantate) series
Oskar Kokoschka
Description
Oskar Kokoschka
Austria, 1886–1980
The Pleading (Die Flehende)
1914
Lithograph
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection, 2007/2.121
Alfred Kubin
Austria, 1887–1959
The Bremen Town Musicians (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
1940
Graphite on paper
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection, 2007/2.118
Lovis Corinth
Germany, 1858–1925
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott)
1920
Ink on paper
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection, 2007/2.108
Prints and printing processes held a special position in the practices of Expressionist artists. On a practical level, prints were an easy way disseminate images and obtain income. For artists like Otto Dix and George Grosz, whose work had significant social and political dimensions, printmaking became a way to reach the masses. Yet prints were also a way to both tap into medieval German artistic traditions and reinvigorate traditional practices in the midst of increasing mechanization. Many Expressionists turned to German sources for their print subjects; these three works are based on a Bach cantata in the Kokoschka, a German folktale in the Kubin, and an illustrated history of Martin Luther in the Corinth.
Subject Matter:
A woman on knees looks up into, pleads, with the heavens. She is illuminated by moonlight, with a full moon appearing in the topmost sky. From an illustration series for Bach's Cantata, with Alma Mahler serving as model.
Physical Description:
In the foreground, illuminated white, a woman, her long hair hanging down her back, kneels and gazes upward, her arms extended in front of her, her hands pointing skyward. The sky is nearly all dark, with a full moon appearing in the center top of the image.
Usage Rights:
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.