Untitled (Self-Portrait)
- Date
- 1978
- Classification
- Drawings & watercolors
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 25 3/4 x 19 1/2 in. (65.4 x 49.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Honorable and Mrs. Thomas F. Eagleton
- Rights
- © Dieter Roth Estate, courtesy Hauser & Wirth
- Object Number
- 107:2000
NOTES
In this self-portrait, Dieter Roth makes a gesture not unlike the Pantocrator (All Powerful) in Byzantine art, which shows Christ making the gesture of teaching or blessing with his right hand. Haloed in yellow, Roth shows himself raising his left hand. The left side is traditionally associated with destructive and menacing acts (the Latin word sinister means both left and unlucky). The apparently spontaneous application of paint and the use of Kraft paper tape as a framing device suggest a disposable quality to the work. This drawing may emphasize Roth's belief in the chaotic process of creation via destruction.
Provenance
- 1998
Kurt Kalb, Vienna, Austria, purchased from the artist [1]
1998
Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Kurt Kalb
1998 - 2000
The Honorable and Mrs. Thomas F. Eagleton, St. Louis, MO, purchased from the Nolan/Eckman Gallery
2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Honorable and Mrs. Thomas F. Eagleton [2]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is a memo dated November 17, 2000 faxed from Nell Ogorzaly at the Nolan/Eckman Gallery to Olivia Lahs-Gonzales at the Saint Louis Art Musum [SLAM document files].
[1] Kurt Kalb was a friend and dealer of Dieter Roth.
[2] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 6, 2000.
Kurt Kalb, Vienna, Austria, purchased from the artist [1]
1998
Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Kurt Kalb
1998 - 2000
The Honorable and Mrs. Thomas F. Eagleton, St. Louis, MO, purchased from the Nolan/Eckman Gallery
2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Honorable and Mrs. Thomas F. Eagleton [2]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is a memo dated November 17, 2000 faxed from Nell Ogorzaly at the Nolan/Eckman Gallery to Olivia Lahs-Gonzales at the Saint Louis Art Musum [SLAM document files].
[1] Kurt Kalb was a friend and dealer of Dieter Roth.
[2] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 6, 2000.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.