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Lot Essay
Ralph Jentsch has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
In the present work, Grosz dissects the notion of sex appeal and the human condition. Inscriptions from the artist are accompanied by imagery which depicts, from the top right, clockwise: "Pearls: devotion and reward," "Decorations: sacrifice, merits and reward," "Flexible backbone: see love of the fatherland," "Sex appeal: leg of a cinema actress from 1930," "Women's boots: see sex appeal," "Men's boots (See sex appeal) and love of the motherland," "Whip / Philosophical instrument," "Soul: Morally tender in the solar plexus / hope in the solar plexus," "Heart: seat of emotion."
Gifts of pearls to a woman as a reward for devotion are compared against the military decorations bestowed upon men in recognition of sacrifice, merit and reward. The flexible backbone bows to duty, and therefore demonstrates love of the fatherland. The female legs with long stockings, which were soon to be immortalized by Marlene Dietrich in Der blaue Engel (fig. 1), are juxtaposed with men's boots, the ceremonial sword, and the whip, which Grosz labels a philosophical instrument, predicting the violence that would soon be perpetrated in his country in the name of a philosophy. In exploring the heart and soul, Grosz writes the word hope (twice-crossed out elsewhere) right before solar plexus. Beyond the exterior adornments, physical attributes and societal conduct which is here addressed, it is hope that lies at the core of the soul.
In the present work, Grosz dissects the notion of sex appeal and the human condition. Inscriptions from the artist are accompanied by imagery which depicts, from the top right, clockwise: "Pearls: devotion and reward," "Decorations: sacrifice, merits and reward," "Flexible backbone: see love of the fatherland," "Sex appeal: leg of a cinema actress from 1930," "Women's boots: see sex appeal," "Men's boots (See sex appeal) and love of the motherland," "Whip / Philosophical instrument," "Soul: Morally tender in the solar plexus / hope in the solar plexus," "Heart: seat of emotion."
Gifts of pearls to a woman as a reward for devotion are compared against the military decorations bestowed upon men in recognition of sacrifice, merit and reward. The flexible backbone bows to duty, and therefore demonstrates love of the fatherland. The female legs with long stockings, which were soon to be immortalized by Marlene Dietrich in Der blaue Engel (fig. 1), are juxtaposed with men's boots, the ceremonial sword, and the whip, which Grosz labels a philosophical instrument, predicting the violence that would soon be perpetrated in his country in the name of a philosophy. In exploring the heart and soul, Grosz writes the word hope (twice-crossed out elsewhere) right before solar plexus. Beyond the exterior adornments, physical attributes and societal conduct which is here addressed, it is hope that lies at the core of the soul.