Shoah 1492–1945
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Shoah 1492–1945 is one of the best-known paintings by the artist Wolf Vostell, created in 1997. It addresses the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and the Jewish victims of the Holocaust perpetrated by the German Nazis and their collaborators between 1941 and 1945 in Europe.
Description[edit]
The 7.20-meter-wide painting was initially commissioned by the Spanish government in 1992 and started by Vostell.[1] Originally, the painting was intended to depict the expulsion of Jews from Spain at the end of the long Reconquista in 1492 and serve as a reminder of that event. Vostell later expanded the theme to include the genocide of 5.6 to 6.3 million Jews in Europe during World War II.
The work is named Shoah after the Hebrew term Schoah, which translates to "the catastrophe" or "the great disaster" and is used as a synonym for the Holocaust.
Vostell emphasized the importance of creating a bridge through the painting, connecting more than 500 years of Jewish expulsion and suppression in Spain and Europe. Through art, he aimed to bring attention to this topic. One inspiration for his painting was Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937), which depicted the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War by the German Legion Condor and the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie.
My painting, despite the fixation of the theme in the title, is universally legitimate and expresses the tragedy and great disaster, all the victims who fell in parallel during this time.[citation needed] - Wolf Vostell, 1997
The artwork is also connected to Vostell's assemblages Auschwitz-Scheinwerfer 568, Treblinka, and Deutscher Ausblick from the Environment Das schwarze Zimmer created in 1958, which marked Vostell's initial engagement with and representation of the Holocaust.[2][3]
This is the same thing in green. The first were objects, not depictions of people, but remnants of destruction of people and about people. And so, the space is dedicated to Auschwitz and Treblinka. This time, I was interested in a figuration that is not illustrative but shows destruction in a phenomenological sense, naturally linked to the theme. It is the bridge from '58 to '97, two bridge pillars over which a bridge passes, over which I will probably continue to walk for even longer.[citation needed] - Wolf Vostell, 1997
Composition of the painting[edit]
The structure of the painting consists of two levels separated horizontally by a "concrete wall". The upper level depicts the horizon with bright colors and light blue tones, symbolizing the promise of liberation from oppression and expulsion, and freedom. In contrast, the lower level portrays a mass of people in darker colors and intense red tones. The mass of people is represented by various arms and faces of individuals, as well as concrete blocks in the shape of women's legs, a classic element in Vostell's style.
Exhibitions[edit]
The painting was first exhibited in 1997, shortly after its completion, at the gallery of his son, Galerie Fine Art Rafael Vostell in Berlin. A few weeks after Vostell's death in April 1998, the painting was exhibited at the Palacio Galveias in Lisbon, followed by the MEIAC (Museum of Ibero-American Contemporary Art) in Badajoz.[4][5]
In 2007, the painting was displayed at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn as part of a Vostell exhibition commemorating his 75th birthday.[6]
In 2014, a joint exhibition of Vostell and the painter El Greco took place at the Synagogue El Tránsito in Toledo. The synagogue has housed the Museo Sefardí, a museum dedicated to the history of Jews in Spain, since 1964.[citation needed]
In July 2022, the painting was exhibited at the Kunsthaus Dahlem in Berlin as part of the exhibition "Kunst nach der Shoah - Wolf Vostell im Dialog mit Boris Lurie." The Kunsthaus Dahlem is located in a part of the building that used to be Vostell's former studio.[citation needed]
Literature[edit]
- Shoah 1492–1945. En memoria de la expulsion de los judios espanoles y de las victimas del Holocausto. Junta de Extremadura, ISBN 978-84-7671-436-2 Search this book on
.. - Mercedes Guardado: Mi vida con Vostell. Un artista de vanguardia. Editorial La Fábrica, Madrid 2011, ISBN 978-84-92841-91-2 Search this book on ..
- Mercedes Vostell: Vostell – ein Leben lang. Siebenhaar Verlag, Berlín 2012, ISBN 978-3-936962-88-8 Search this book on ..
References[edit]
- ↑ "Kunst nach der Shoah. Wolf Vostell im Dialog mit Boris Lurie im Kunsthaus Dahlem". art-in-berlin.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ↑ Vostell, Wolf. "Das schwarze Zimmer".
- ↑ "Collection Online | Berlinische Galerie | Ihr Museum für moderne und zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin". sammlung-online.berlinischegalerie.de. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ↑ "Rafael Vostell Art Trust - Biographie Wolf Vostell". www.vostell.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ↑ ArtFacts. "Wolf Vostell - SHOAH 1492-1945 | Exhibition". ArtFacts. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ↑ deutschlandfunkkultur.de. ""Meine Kunst ist der ewige Widerstand gegen den Tod"". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2023-07-01.
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