Otto Dix, Sylvia von Harden and the New Woman

The Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden made by Otto Dix in 1928 is the result of both the painter and the journalist meeting each other at the Romanisches Café. Dix saw in Von Harden a representation of an entire epoch, 1920s Berlin, a time when the Neue Frau (New Woman) came to be.

0:00 Berlin in the 20th Century
1:00 Neue Frau
1:17 Otto Dix and Sylvia von Harden
2:24 Portrait of Sylvia von Harden

[curiousworld]

I've always loved this painting - Ms. von Harden looks like someone I would want to sit down and talk with. One of the many reasons I've long loved the Expressionists is that they didn't paint people or objects just to evoke pleasure or a generalized sense of beauty, but rather to show a deeper reality in these subjects. Dix, like many of his fellow artists of the time, was a veteran of WWI, and their paintings of war have nothing to do with 'gallantry' or 'nobility' - they're brutal, horrific, terrifying as war truly is. This portrait has, as you say, no interest in pleasing a man's eyes with the subject's outer beauty, but with her inner-self and with a recognition of a modern woman of her time.

[tita]

thank U for this video! it's very necessary. loved to know more about sylvia, it seems we have almost nothing about her life and articles. she was a poet too and i would love to see her poems but seems like is not at the internet yet...
i know her for that picture taken by August Sander, its iconic and timeless

[thewaywardpoet]

Ah, a magnificent work of art (as well as one of my personal favorites). Not only is it "representative of an entire epoch, " as Dix himself put it, but it's truly iconic, so much so that director Bob Fosse paid homage to it in the opening sequence of 'Cabaret' with a customer dressed exactly like Fräulein von Harden in the portrait. It's by no means a conventionally beautiful painting, but that, in my opinion, is what makes it shine. It depicts a specific place and time while simultaneously being timeless and universal.

[Aramanth]

Discovered this portrait about 30 years ago and had a strong
affinity to it. Dix's work is impressive as is the work of all the
other *New Objectivity Group* like George Grosz and Max Beckman.
This was a great presentation, well done!

[devnaroberts]

The day I "tripped" over your podcast was most exciting. I am savoring each episode of your backlog and sincerely appreciate and thank you for sharing your prospective!

[galielkarmi]

This is my favorite painting of Otto Dix, I'm so glad you made this video

[artfrontgalleries]

Strangely, I think that the photo of her presents a quite striking, attractive woman. As a photographer, I see the intellect and the sense of self that she exudes. My vision is limited by what I can record; Dix's vision is unlimited by what he can interpret with brush, color and skill

[chestersakamoto]

Great video and analysis, my friend. I've always enjoyed this painting. It's bizarre, grotesque, even playful, and perfectly encapsulates the Weimar-Era sensibility. I'm curious to know, however, the music you used in this episode. The moody piano fits perfectly!

[UmbrellaGent]

A small thing; the photograph of the smoking woman ( 1:22 ) is most likely not Sylvia von Harden. I've seen real photographs of Sylvia von Harden and she looked nothing like this and a lot more like she does in Dix's portrait.
The photograph by August Sander depicts a "Secretary at West German Radio" in Cologne in 1931. Sylvia von Harden did not work at West German Radio, not in that time-frame, most likely not ever. The inaccurate association of the photographed woman with Sylvia most likely arose simply due to certain similarity in they way they are depicted but there is no evidence to suggest they are the same person.

[Elisa-sngt]

Such a interesting painting! Your analysis is very good! There are other paintings by Otto Dix, especially about the War that could turn into a interesting video, I would like to see your analyses about them.

[tyorke]

Great video and interesting observations. My first impression is that her hand is gesturing, her mouth open in speech. Posing for so long, I would guess that Sylvia and Otto talked a great deal and got to know each other -- painter and journalist, very interesting dynamic -- and he is expressing here not just her "psychological condition, " but her verbal intelligence, perhaps cynicism, who knows... But the way that hand comes out (as compared to the photograph) looks very much to me like it is demonstrating some point, the cigarette box open, at the ready, in order to continue the discussion (or maybe just the painting session).

[Useramensch]

I just saw this painting last week, cool video

[pinxithd]

Excellent video! However the photo is not of Sylvia von Harden: It is known as “Secretary at West German Radio, Cologne” by August Sander. It was taken in 1931, a few years after Dix painted the portrait, and it may well be that Sander was inspired by the painting, as both men knew each other well. By the way, the photo is currently on show at the MoMA in their Weimar Citizens exhibition.

[artvsmachine]

Interesting video. Curious that she's so much more appealing in the black and white photo. The painting is anything but flattering.

[luciedotzip]

This is the 10th video in a row i've viewed from this channel, and the fact that, at this point in time, works of this level of quality are only recieving a few thousand views and about a hundred dollars a month on patreon, frustrates me to no end. By leaving a comment here and donating to the patreon i've done what i can for now, but I'll be spreading this channel as far as i can from here out.

[mr.sophistication]

He nailed it with this one. Way ahead of it’s time.

[rareli]

Mannn your vids r amazing. I stumbled on to your channel randomly cuz I was looking to see if anyone had made a video essay on the fallen angel painting. Your’s was the only one and it was amazingggg. Then I watched some more of your videos and I am shocked by the level of skill you have. You seem like a channel who would have like millions of subs. Feels like a found a hidden gem. Im going to watch more of your videos now. Subscribed.

[amymalina]

I have a magnet of this painting on my refrigerator

[ellerose]

How liberating: a woman who does not have to be pretty to be someone!

[iphigeniacomplex]

How come you don't have more subscribers? Your channel is amazing, and your analyses are superb! However, I must ask, what is the name of the melody that plays throughout the video? it truly complements it :-)