German Motif – Dithyrambic III
- Date
- 1972
- Material
- Distemper on canvas
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 242
- Dimensions
- 74 x 78 1/2 in. (188 x 199.4 cm)
framed: 78 x 82 3/4 x 2 in. (198.1 x 210.2 x 5.1 cm) - Credit Line
- Funds given by Anabeth and John Weil
- Rights
- © 2020 Markus Lüpertz / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Object Number
- 9:2003
NOTES
This forceful painting was executed with intense colors, stark outlines, and a radically magnified scale. Here, Markus Lüpertz provoked viewers to fill in the gaps of a story by connecting the objects depicted to the “German motif” referenced in the painting’s title. Aspects of the composition recall symbols associated with Nazi ideology and elements of German myth and history co-opted by the Nazi party. For example, the sheaf of wheat and spade would have been associated with the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD), a Nazi organization intended to indoctrinate youth.
Provenance
Silvia and Hartmut Ackermeier, Berlin, Germany [1]
by 1991 - 2003
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Cologne, Germany [2]
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from the Michael Werner Gallery [3]
Notes:
The main source for the provenance is a letter from the Michael Werner Gallery dated May 24, 2002 [SLAM document files].
[1] The Michael Werner Gallery letter notes the Ackermeier Collection, Berlin as a previous owner of the painting; elsewhere in Michael Werner Gallery correspondence this refers to the collection of Silvia and Hartmut Ackermeier.
[2] A 1991 exhibition label on the verso of this painting is annotated "Werner," indicating that Michael Werner Gallery had possession of this painting at that time.
[3] Purchase agreement between Michael Werner Gallery and the Saint Louis Art Museum, May 1, 2003 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 4, 2003; and the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 10, 2003.
by 1991 - 2003
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Cologne, Germany [2]
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from the Michael Werner Gallery [3]
Notes:
The main source for the provenance is a letter from the Michael Werner Gallery dated May 24, 2002 [SLAM document files].
[1] The Michael Werner Gallery letter notes the Ackermeier Collection, Berlin as a previous owner of the painting; elsewhere in Michael Werner Gallery correspondence this refers to the collection of Silvia and Hartmut Ackermeier.
[2] A 1991 exhibition label on the verso of this painting is annotated "Werner," indicating that Michael Werner Gallery had possession of this painting at that time.
[3] Purchase agreement between Michael Werner Gallery and the Saint Louis Art Museum, May 1, 2003 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 4, 2003; and the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 10, 2003.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.