Digital Collection
Hierarchy, Josef Scharl
Josef Scharl
Hierarchy
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Josef Scharl

Hierarchy, 1937

Dimensions
159.5 x 65 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
2405
Acquisition
Acquired in 2012 with means provided by the Werner Wirthle bequest
Status
On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art, room 14

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About the Work

The figural pyramid appears strictly hierarchic, culminating in a leader-figure, who looks as though the person were sitting on a throne. The dignitaries’ grotesquely exaggerated features run counter to the apparent meaning of the work’s title, which can be considered as a satirical attack on the contemporary cult of authority in Nazi ideology. In terms of style, the work dialogues with both Expressionism and New Objectivity. It was executed the same year in which the Munich artist was banned from exhibiting. Ostracized as “degenerate”, the painter went into American exile shortly afterwards.

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Last update

10.09.2024