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General

1993
Not on view
Made the year before the first fully democratic election in South Africa, at a time of reactionary opposition to the anti-apartheid movement on the part of the police and right-wing factions in the government, General embodies all of the pomposity and menace of officers as they were depicted by the great satirists of the World War I era, such as George Grosz and Otto Dix. The General in this print shares his name with a character in Easing the Passing (of the Hours)—a computer animation Kentridge produced with fellow South African artists Deborah Bell and Robert Hodgins—who, among other aggressions, orders his troops to fire upon unarmed protesters.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: General
  • Artist: William Kentridge (South African, born Johannesburg, 1955)
  • Printer: Jack Shirreff (British, born Colombo, 1943–2017)
  • Printer: Andrew Smith
  • Publisher: David Krut Fine Art, Inc.
  • Date: 1993
  • Medium: Drypoint and etching on handmade paper
  • Edition: 5/15
  • Dimensions: 47 13/16 × 31 1/2 in. (121.5 × 80 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Reba and Dave Williams Gift, 2004
  • Object Number: 2004.32
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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General, William Kentridge South African, Etching with drypoint and watercolor (hand coloring) on handmade paper
General
Multiple artists/makers
1993–98
a: Man with Megaphone Cluster; b: Man with Megaphone, William Kentridge South African, Set of two etchings and aquatint with blue crayon
a: Man with Megaphone Cluster; b: Man with Megaphone
William Kentridge
1998
Puppet Drawing, William Kentridge South African, Collage of torn black paper, pins, tape, and colored pencil on printed paper with handcoloring mounted on foam core board
Puppet Drawing
William Kentridge
2000
Puppet Drawing, William Kentridge South African, Collage of torn black paper, pins, tape, and colored pencil on printed paper with handcoloring mounted on foam core board
Puppet Drawing
William Kentridge
2000
Template for Puppet Drawing, William Kentridge South African, Blue marker on tracing paper
Template for Puppet Drawing
William Kentridge
2000

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