Card Players (Kartenspieler)
In the 1920s, Dix addressed not only combat at the front, but also life in contemporary Germany. In this image, realized as both a painting and a print, he took up the age-old motif of the card game, giving it a contemporary political angle. Gathered around a small table are three veterans, whose bodies lack large sections and include exaggerated and obtrusive prosthetics. Dix highlights the artificiality, showing wooden legs intertwined with table legs, for instance. The mutilated bodies represent the condition of veterans the artist encountered, many of whom were in dire physical and financial conditions and, despite their sacrifice, neglected by the government. Prosthetics and plastic surgery saw great advances during this era in response to catastrophic war injuries.
Artwork Details
- Title: Card Players (Kartenspieler)
- Artist: Otto Dix (German, Untenhaus 1891–1969 Singen)
- Date: 1920
- Medium: Drypoint
- Dimensions: Plate: 12 15/16 × 11 1/8 in. (32.9 × 28.3 cm)
Sheet: 19 7/8 × 13 1/16 in. (50.5 × 33.2 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Charles Z. Offin Fund and A. Hyatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, 1989
- Object Number: 1989.1112
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Otto Dix
1961
Otto Dix
1922
Otto Dix
1923
Otto Dix
1924
Multiple artists/makers
1920
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