9 August 2008 – 9 October 2008

Hitler blind and Stalin lame. Marinus and Heartfield - political photomontage of the 1930s

The political photomontage reached the height of its popularity in France during the 1930s. Of outstanding importance in this connection was the newspaper Marianne, which first appeared in 1932 in Paris and in the years up till 1940 offered its readers over 250 photomontages – mainly on its cover. It is clear that they were inspired by the work of John Heartfield, who in 1930 began to produce photomontages for the worker’s weekly, the Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung. But the works in Mariane distinguish themselves by their great variety and virtuosity. While a great deal is known about the work and life of John Heartfield are, the identity of the author of the Marianne montages was thought to have been lost for ever, especially after the entry of the German troops in Paris into June 1940 put a sudden end to the French magazine in its heyday. Thus the recent discovery that the Dane Jacob Kjeldgaard (1884 - 1964) was behind the pseudonym ‘Marinus’ was nothing short of a sensation. He had worked on the editorial board of the Marianne from 1933 on, and was the creator of the photomontages that developed a truly astonishing repertoire of images. Not only were the politics of National Socialism caricatured from a French vantage point, the foremost statesmen of the West in the 1930s were also portrayed as a sly manipulators and dubious pacifists. Hitler was portrayed as a house painter, as a dull-witted bridegroom in Wagner’s ´Tristan and Isolde’, or as a carnival prince, while Mussolini and Stalin were cast as shifty politicians. Marinus also introduced famous paintings into his collages, taking works from Leonardo, Breughel, Delacroix, Rodin and Franz von Stuck, as well as stills from period movies such as 'Ben Hur'. Even today his photomontages baffle the viewer with their perfection and historical finesse, which were aimed at subtly informing the reader giving them a good shake-up.

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Museum Ludwig
Heinrich-Böll-Platz
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http://www.museum-ludwig.de

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Description of the Museum

The collection of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne begins with the turn of the century and contains the most important phases and positions of modernity.

opened 1986; architects: Peter Busmann and Godfrid Haberer

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