George Grosz :
Exhibition of drawings of Berlin life under the Weimar Republic
The Royal Academy, Piccadilly, London W1 Till June 8, 1997 10am-6pm (5.30pm last admission)
Reviewed by George Lindley
Those interested in a portrayal of social conditions under the Weimar Republic by a left-wing artist will find much food for thought in this exhibition of line drawings at the Royal Academy. The division between rich and poor in post-first world war Berlin is heavily accentuated with contrast between the riches of the bourgeoisie and the inadequately supported war disabled. Riding along with the former are the repressive elements of the establishment, the Reichswehr Officer Corps, the Freikorps with their association with the "white" elements in Russia and their Swastika sign pre-dating its use by the Nazis and the Berlin Schutzmannschaft or police. Life is raw and randy -- mutilation and the brothel.
Hitler is depicted as a caveman. Perhaps the Bavarian equivalent of Reiter Runge, the trooper of the Garde Kavallerie Freikorps who struck down the Communist leaders Karl Liebtnecht and Rosa Luxemburg, whose deaths are depicted. Prophetic in its way, as the corporal promoted lieutenant in conjunction with the reactionary Freikorps leader Franz von Papen was to strike down the republic.
If Goya depicted the early nineteenth century disasters of war, so Grosz depicts the twentieth century disasters of peace. The "I'm all right, Jack!" attitude of the bourgeoisie -- with suffering and discontent underneath.... Grand Guignol in line drawings.
A thought-provoking, but not pleasant, viewing.
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