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Das Arbeiterbild
Das Arbeiterbild
Das Arbeiterbild
Photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet

Das Arbeiterbild

Artist (Tyskland, 1887 - 1948)
Alternate Title
  • Arbetarbilden
  • The Worker Picture
Date1919
MediumCollage with paper, wood and metal on panel
DimensionsBildmått: 125 × 91 cm Ram: 143 × 109 × 16 cm
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LineDonation 1964 from The Friends of Moderna Museet
Countries
Object NumberNM 5863
The artwork is not on display
About the artworkThe First World War left Kurt Schwitters’ Germany in ruins. This is where he found the fragments for the collages that were his version of futurism and dadaism. Tearing the “merz” from stationery with the letterhead Commerzbank, he began creating works that he called Merzbilden. In a three-storey building in Hannover, these Merzbilden grew into a sprawling structure: Merzbau. The Second World War forced Schwitters to leave the country, going first to Oslo and then to the UK, where he continued working on his linguistic rebellion and anti-hierarchical order, creating new Merzbau houses. His openness to “low” materials and the challenging monumental size of his works presaged future movements in art.
Selected exhibition history Givet av MMV (1972) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Önskemuseet (1963-1964) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Moderna Museets samling i ny presentation (1998-2000) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Ny presentation av samlingen (2000-2002) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Samlingsutställning 2004 - 2011 - I vår tid (2004 - 2011) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Dada-utställningen (1966) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Mästerverken åter. Verk av spanska konstnärer ur Samling S. runt den återbördade Picassos Källan. (1995) Moderna Museet, Stockholm The Moderna Museet exhibition catalogues The Masterpieces are back! : Moderna Museet, Spårvagnshallarna : [May 6th - August 27th 1995]Mästerverken åter! Moderna Museet, Spårvagnshallarna : [6 maj - 27 augusti 1995]Önskemuseet : the museum of our wishes : notre musée tel qu´il devrait être : museum unserer wünsche : [utställning i Moderna Museet, Stockholm : 26 december 1963 - 16 februari 1964] / ordnad av Moderna Museets VännerGivet av Moderna Museets vänner : [Moderna Museet : 22.1 - 13.2 1972]Dada : meddelande från Moderna Museets vänner