Brunnhilde with Heart

Dana Schutz American

Not on view

As Schutz puts it, "Brünnhilde is a fascinating character, very powerful but conflicted. She takes the whole world down, as well as herself." One of the most important protagonists of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Brünnhilde is both a heroine who protects the unborn child of her half-brother in defiance of her father Wotan’s wishes and also one of the reasons for the twilight of the gods: immolating herself in the process, she causes Valhalla to burn. Schutz, who is acclaimed for powerfully painted and fantastical works that make use of a bright, almost Fauvist palette, drew Brünnhilde as part of a group of drawings she made for a commission honoring the Metropolitan Opera’s new productions of the Ring Cycle in 2011–12.

Brunnhilde with Heart, Dana Schutz (American, born Livonia, Michigan, 1976), Brush and ink and crayon on paper (recto) ; Brush and ink on paper (verso)

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Recto