The Snake Charmer / Oskar Kokoschka
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2000/2.180
- Title
- The Snake Charmer
- Artist
- Oskar Kokoschka
- Artist Nationality
- Austrian
- Artist Life Dates
- 1886 - 1980
- Medium and Support
- tempera on wove paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1907-1908
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Austria (nation)
- Vienna state (state)
- Vienna (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Austria (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Vienna state (state)
- Creation Place 4
- Vienna (inhabited place)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Herbert Barrows
- Style/Group/Movement
- Expressionism
- Inscription
- Signed twice in black tempera, l.r. and r. edge close to center: OK
- Dimensions
- 18.7 cm x 16.2 cm (7 3/8 in. x 6 3/8 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Drawing
- Primary Object Type
- portrait
- Physical Description
- Geometrically patterned composition with bright saturated colors composed of a central female figure with mermaid’s tail and bright red mane of hair; skull-headed figure at left with guitar; two green monster-like figures in upper right quadrant; two black fish with blue eyes near center.
- Subject Matter
- “The Snake Charmer” marks a movement towards a more expressionistic style in Kokoschka’s work incorporating a bold, bright color palette, undulating lines and organic forms into a new, modern means of artistic expression filled with metaphors and personal mythologies.
- The image is unsettling with acidic colors and dark, outlandish subject matter suggestive of an underwater scene with a mermaid, green sea monsters and a skull-headed musician at left playing a guitar representing the snake charmer.
- Primary Keywords
- abstraction
- demons
- expressionist
- fish
- males
- mermaid
- monsters
- musical instrument
- snakes
- standing
- Secondary Keywords
- animals
- animals and creatures
- european
- european styles and periods
- figures
- genres
- legendary creatures
- mermaids
- modern european fine arts styles and movements
- modern european styles and movements
- objects we use
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- religion
- reptiles and amphibians
- sound devices
- sound devices by function
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- subject matter
- the natural world
- 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
- 1834 x 2136
- File Size
- 521 KB
- Record
- 2000/2.180
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.180/2000_2.180.jpg-2
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
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Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Snake Charmer; Oskar Kokoschka." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.180/2000_2.180.jpg-2. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2024.