Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber

The Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber (German: Porträt der Tänzerin Anita Berber) is a painting executed by German painter Otto Dix in 1925. The painting was done with oil and tempera on plywood. It has the dimensions of 120 by 65 cm. It represents the dancer Anita Berber, a celebrity of Weimar Republic, known for her scandalous performances and licentious lyfestyle, and its at the collection of the Sammlung Landesbank Baden-Württemberg in loan to the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany.[1]

Description

Dix knew personally Berber, having attended several of her live performances. The artist decided to depict her on a red background, wearing a long red dress. The dress covers almost her entire body. She looks to her left, while striking a vamp-like pose, with the right hand in front of her and her left hand resting on her hip. Her hair is red too, while she wears a very thick white makeup, which gives her face a mask-like appearance.[2] Her image emphasizes her sexuality and her status as a sexual icon of her time.[3]

The painting was part of the two stamps edition by Deutsche Post to commemorate the centennial of the birth of Otto Dix in 1991.

References
  1. Critical Dix, Artnet
  2. Anita Berber: Femme Fatale of the Weimar Republic, Daily Art Magazine, 14 May 2020
  3. Anita Berber: Imaging a Weimar Performance Artist, JSTOR
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