Giraffe Lady. Study for the public swimming pool Jörgerbad, 1912 - 1914

When the public swimming pool Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Bad was built between 1912 and 1914 according to plans by the architect Friedrich Jäckel (1876–1960), the painter Oskar Laske (1874–1951) was commissioned to decorate the entrance hall with paintings on the theme of Noah’s Ark. The watercolored drawing is an original-size draft for the entrance hall’s left pillar. Laske created a humorous depiction of a seated Giraffe Lady. Boasting breasts and wearing a necklace, the lady is pulling down a piece of cloth over her long giraffe’s leg. Following World War I, the building was renamed Jörgerbad, reflecting the name of the street it is situated on. Thus, the artist’s handwritten note on the work on paper must have been added later. During the course of structural and technical renovations carried out between 1968 and 1978, Laske’s frescos, including the paintings on the pillars, were partly destroyed.

AK, 2021