Physical Description
Drawing in multi-color watercolor and black ink on heavyweight paper of a caricature of patrons viewing German historical mannequins on display. In the center, facing forward, is a group of 3 uniformed figures: Hitler with long wispy bangs and protruding ears, dressed in brown shirt and jodhpurs, Iron Cross, black tie, knee high boots, and red swastika armband. He is flanked by a very fat Goering in white cap and medal bedecked uniform, red sash, red swastika armband, and green cape and a very short Goebbels in a brown military cap and tunic. In the right foreground is a large mannequin of Kaiser Wilhelm with a bushy mustache in a blue military uniform with red collar and cuffs, knee high boots with spurs, and gold helmet with eagle, holding a scepter. In the front center is a display case with the severed head of a stereotypical Jewish man with a very big nose, blood dripping from the neck. On the right, a long aisle extends back through several rooms with military mannequins and patrons. In the left foreground is a caricature of a thickset, bored looking male German patron. Behind him stands a family group with a small child in a sailor outfit, gazing at Hitler. In the back left corner is a mannequin of an old man, Paul von Hindenburg, with a cane and a bushy mustache. The background has a light blue-gray wash. It is signed and dated by the artist.
Dimensions
overall: Height: 17.500 inches (44.45 cm) | Width: 13.625 inches (34.608 cm)
Materials
overall : paper, watercolor, ink
Signature
front, lower right corner, black ink : Uzarski / 48
Contributor
Artist:
Adolf Uzarski
Subject:
Adolf Uzarski
Biography
Adolf Uzarski was born on April 14, 1885, in Ruhrort, Germany. He attended the School of Architecture in Cologne. He moved to Dusseldorf in 1906 and trained as a commercial artist at the Dusseldorf Kunstgewerbeschule [School of Art and Crafts.] From 1913-1914, he studied in Paris, France. In 1916, Uzarski, along with Arthur Kaufman, had his work exhibited at the Dusseldorf Kunsthalle. He became head of the advertising department at Tietz Department store. In 1916-17, in the midst of World War I (1914-1918) Uzarski produced a celebrated series of lithographs, Totentanz [Danse Macabre.] From 1919-1920, he was associated with a group of Expressionist artists known as the Aktivistenbundes 1919. Also in 1919, Uzarski was a founder of Das Junge Rheinland [Young Rhineland], with other avant garde artists and intellectuals, including Max Ernst, Otto Dix, Otto Pankok, Karl Schwesig, and Gerd Wollheim. They were among the artists promoted by art dealer Johanna Ey (Mutter Ey), who exhibited their work in her gallery. From 1921, Uzarski wrote satirical pieces for the group's journal, Das Junge Rheinland. With Kaufmann and Wollheim, he organized the First International Art Exhibit in Dusseldorf. Uzarski was awarded the 1920 Plakat Prize for his graphic work. In 1923, Uzarski broke with Das Junge Rheinland, angry over what he perceived as Mrs. Ey’s preferential treatment of certain artists. He formed his own coterie, the Rheingruppe, with which he exhibited until 1930. In addition to his work as painter, engraver, and illustrator, sometimes of his own poetry and fiction, Uzarski was increasingly well known as a literary satirist, often criticizing bourgeois society. In 1924, he published a novel, "Tun Kwang Pipi", a political critique of the German radical right. Like members of both Rhineland groups, Uzarski was a modernist who rejected academic and classical styles of art. In 1928, he formed the Rheinischen Secession.
In January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Under the Nazi regime, art and culture had to serve to promote Nazi ideology. In September, Hitler announced that it was time for a new, pure German art. Modern art was denounced as degenerate, a tool of the international Jewish conspiracy. Uzarski was designated a degenerate, decadent artist and was persecuted and censored by the Nazi regime. He left Germany for Robertville, Belgium, but was considered an undesirable by local authorities and placed under surveillance. In 1938, he returned to Germany. Life was difficult and he moved frequently. He was forbidden to work as an artist and under Gestapo surveillance. He may have gone back to Belgium and possibly lived there in hiding during the war, which ended in May 1945 with Germany’s surrender. Uzarski returned to Dusseldorf and resumed his career as a politically aware literary satirist and artist. Uzarski, 85, passed away on July 14, 1970.
