About the Work
Six years after the equality of men and women was enshrined in law in the Weimar Constitution and women were subsequently admitted to German art academies, Hanna Nagel began her studies at the Badische Landeskunstschule (Baden Regional School of Art) in Karlsruhe. There, she received important impulses from Karl Hubbuch (1894–1979), whose drawing lessons she attended. Hubbuch’s precise, unembellished depictions of people and society had a decisive influence on Nagel’s early work. This is also evident in the watercolour drawing that was recently acquired with the help of the Städelscher Museums-Verein. Hubbuch’s influence can be seen above all in Nagel’s handling of lines and in the isolation of the figure – otherwise, the drawing is quite independent, delicate in colour, and sensitive and concentrated in expression.
Nagel depicts the old woman sitting upright, in rigid profile, with a snail-like, twisted bun – and a surprisingly dynamic fur collar, which she drew on the paper with black coloured pencil in individual curved lines. There is something strangely lively about this dark fur collar, something moving that does not quite fit in with the otherwise quiet, calm composition. The hand, which is only indicated by a few lines, and which holds a flower in a symbolic gesture – and, in this, is vaguely reminiscent of Hans Holbein the Younger (for example, the Portrait of Simon George of Cornwall, Inv. 1065, Städel Museum) – ultimately undermines all verism. Something surrealistic slips into the composition, as can so often be observed in works of New Objectivity.
