Handstand / Erich Heckel
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1956/1.20
- Title
- Handstand
- Artist
- Erich Heckel
- Artist Nationality
- German
- Artist Life Dates
- 1883-1970
- Medium and Support
- lithograph on paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1916
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Germany (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Germany (nation)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- German Expressionism
- Inscription
- Signed and dated: Erich Heckel 1916 Blind Stamp. l.l. margin: DIE / SCHAF / FEN / DEN
- Dimensions
- 28.3 cm x 20 cm (11 1/8 in. x 7 7/8 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Primary Object Type
- transfer lithograph
- Physical Description
- Print featuring a stage with a figure of a man with his feet touching his head while doing a handstand on a small table flanked by two chairs. His large shadow is cast on the wall behind him. The head and hands of a conductor are visible in the lower right.
- Subject Matter
- Along with fellow members of The Bridge Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel often turned to images of the circus and cabaret as illustrations of working class, non-bourgeoisie society. Following his two years spent in the lakeside focusing upon nudes at rest and in harmony with nature, Heckel’s artistic focus turned to these theatrical images.
- Handstand focuses upon a solitary acrobatic performer on stage. The contorted figure is dwarfed by its monstrous shadow cast upon the stage wall. The head of a conductor leading a brass band is visible in the foreground suggesting that the acrobat is performing before an audience. Along either side of the stage we glimpse columns composed of primitive masks – visual allusions to the Expressionists interest in art of Oceania and the Americas.
- Primary Keywords
- abstraction
- acrobats
- crowds
- entertainers
- expressionism
- expressionist
- hand
- males
- performing artists
- screen
- shadow
- shadows
- stage
- surrealism
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- atmospheric effects
- building divisions
- components
- components and systems
- components by specific context
- energy and related concepts
- energy-related concepts
- european
- european styles and periods
- faces
- figures
- genres
- groups
- hands
- human body
- light-related concepts
- modern and contemporary art
- modern european fine arts styles and movements
- modern european styles and movements
- movement
- objects
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- people by occupation
- people in the arts
- people in the arts and related occupations
- people in the humanities
- people in the performing arts
- performance and backstage spaces
- physical sciences concepts
- physics concepts
- rooms and spaces
- rooms and spaces by building type
- scientific concepts
- stages and stage components
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- the natural world
- theater spaces
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 971 x 1467
- File Size
- 160 KB
- Record
- 1956/1.20
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1956-sl-1.20/1956_1.20.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
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Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Handstand; Erich Heckel." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1956-sl-1.20/1956_1.20.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 16, 2024.
