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Leda, 1919

Otto Dix

In his foreword to the 1919 exhibition catalogue devoted to the group's prints Grohmann introduced Dix this way " Otto Dix appeared at Easter with brutal force, and all sorts of expectations were aroused. At the moment he is laughing heartily at himself, at art, and at us.
Let us leave him to it; something will surely occur to him."

Five paintings of 1919 serve to define Dix's Expressionist period.
Their titles Leda, schwangeres Weib ( Pregnant Women), Mondweib ( Moon Women), Auferstehung des Fleisches ( Resurrection of the Flesh), and Prometheus, a self portrait. The first four convey erotic messages of enormous vehemence with " something cosmic about them. " They were reproduced in Menschen.
Grohmann said, " the ultimate distillation of his memories, not analyses,
the delirium of life, the dancing bewitchment of color. You can turn his paintings upside down; they still work. That is how pure a representation of emotion his art is.
" Zehder takes up the description: " He swings the brush like an ax, and every stroke is a yell of color. The world to him is Chaos in the throes of giving birth."



vehemence
noun
the recruiters were talk to speak with unwavering vehemence passion, force, forcefulness, ardor, fervor, violence, urgency, strength, vigor, intensity, keenness, feeling, enthusiasm, zeal.



throes
plural noun
the throes of childbirth agony, pain, pangs, spasms, torment, suffering, torture; literary travail.
PHRASES
in the throes of we're in the throes of hurricane preparations in the middle of, in the process of, in the midst of, busy with, occupied with, taken up with/by, involved in, dealing with; struggling with, wrestling with, grappling with.



bewitch |biˈwi ch |
verb [ trans. ] (often be bewitched)
cast a spell on and gain control over (someone) by magic : his relatives were firmly convinced that he was bewitched.
• enchant and delight (someone) : they both were bewitched by the country and its culture | [as adj. ] ( bewitching) she was certainly a bewitching woman.
DERIVATIVES
bewitchingly |bəˈwɪtʃɪŋli| |biˈwɪtʃɪŋli| adverb
bewitchment noun
ORIGIN Middle English : from be- [thoroughly] + witch







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