The ''Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber'' () is a 1925 painting in oil and tempera on plywood by German artist

Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and Printmaking, printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Alon ...

. It represents the dancer

Anita Berber Anita Berber (10 June 1899 – 10 November 1928) was a German dancer, actress, and writer who was the subject of an Otto Dix painting. She lived during the time of the Weimar Republic. Early life Berber was born in Leipzig to the violinist Feli ...

, a celebrity of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, known for her scandalous performances and licentious lifestyle. It belongs to the collection of the Sammlung Landesbank

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, and is on loan to the

Kunstmuseum Stuttgart The Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is a contemporary art, contemporary and modern art museum in Stuttgart, Germany, built and opened in 2005. Description The cubic museum building with 5000 m2 of display space was designed by Berlin architects Hascher ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Its dimensions are 120 by 65cm.

Description

Dix knew

personally, having attended several of her live performances. Although Berber posed for this portrait in the nude, the artist decided to depict her wearing a long red dress, on a red background. The dress covers almost her entire body. She looks to her right, while striking a vamp-like pose, with her left hand in front and her right hand resting on her hip. Her hair is also red, and she wears very thick white makeup, which gives her face a mask-like appearance. Her depiction emphasizes her open sexuality and her status as a sexual icon of the time.Anita Berber: Imaging a Weimar Performance Artist, JSTOR
/ref>

Cultural references

The painting was part of the two stamps edition by

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

to commemorate the centennial of the birth of

in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber 1925 paintings Portraits by Otto Dix Portraits of women Oil on panel paintings Tempera paintings Works about entertainers