작품 상세

ARTIST: HANS BALUSCHEK (1870-1935) SIZE: 38 x 27 1/2 in./96.5 x 69.8 cm PRINTER: Hollerbaum & Schmidt, Berlin DESCRIPTION: The image that may run through one's mind upon hearing the title A Harem's Night is likely much more lascivious than this somber design for a touring theatrical piece at the Casino Theater. Instead of seductive concubines, we see a partially denuded woman lost in abject despair in the naked glare of a single suspended lamp. It's a bit tragic that the plot of A Harem's Night was not the artistic equal of this unforgettable poster—the image remains, but not a word of dialogue does. Artist and graphic designer Baluschek studied at the Berlin Academy, and showed his work in the 1898 German Poster Exhibition and the Secessionist exhibit of the following year. In 1920, he joined the Social Democratic party, and until 1931, he contributed satirical cartoons to the Party's humor magazine, The True Jacob. In 1933, during the first year of the Nazi regime, he was forced to give up his work, leaving us to wonder what legacy he could have continued. This variant does not include the top 'Casino Theater' text. (Art Nouveau; German; Theatre)