Scene from the Cycle Dante’s Vita Nova, 1912/13

In 1910 the painter and graphic artist Erwin Lang (1886–1962) devoted a multi-part cycle of graphic works to his first wife Grete Wiesenthal (1885–1970). Each work shows the dancer in various postures which can be attributed to different dances. In the work Veil Dance the opulence of the fabric is used as an important means of expression: The lean body of the performer is enveloped in panels of fabric which secure her hips and feet. Rather than the body, it is the fabric that performs the movement – carrying out an animated dance that corresponds to the curved line. Through the reduction to the black and white contrast, the body and face are invested with the highest degree of emotional expression. While Lang’s woodcuts at times feature elements of Jugendstil, they also exhibit Expressionist influences. The graphic artist Lang dedicated this work on paper to the German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945).

AK, 2021