What is the Subject of the George Grosz painting titled Assassination,1935?

Answer 1

Hey Jims Fine Art,

Assassination - if I were to guess. Suicide looks to be about Suicide, seems to be about more. I could not find an image of Assassination. After looking at a variety of his work, it seems his titles are appropriate for the apparent visual impression. There is something slightly deeper in the symbols, artifacts, and colors of shades he is using. Interesting artist - appreciate your sending me to see. Sorry, I do not know exactly, but suspect it has to do with a desire that someone would assassinate Hitler.

Looking a little deeper, he is highly influenced by war and having been mistakenly sentenced to be executed ... see the web site. It sheds light on his background as a German Impressionist, but you probably already know that.

Answer 2

Grosz's oeuvre frequently deals with contemporary politics and the plight of modern Germany. The painting Assasination likely refers to a current event such as perhaps the highly-publicized political assasination of Sergei Kirov in December of 1934, ordered by his mentor Stalin.

That's just a guess on my part. For a more well-researched answer, you could look at the book "George Grosz: Berlin, New York" published by Ars Nicolai in 1994 (ISBN 3894790547). It was the exhibition catalogue for a massive show at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, which included the majority of Grosz' works.