Dolorosa

The graphic Dolorosa by Willi Geiger was made in 1914 using lithographic technique and printed on paper imitating Japanese one. It belongs to the composition cycle Unseren Helden 1914 dedicated to soldiers who died at the beginning of the First World War. The composition shows a mother mourning her son. The artist gave the secular scene the form of a biblical scene. He made it similar to the composition Dolorosa, in which the Mother of God holds Jesus’ body in her arms after his martyrdom on the cross. The heart of the distraught woman, like the Virgin Mary’s, is pierced by three swords signifying great pain. In that way, Geiger gave the event a symbolic meaning and emphasised its expressiveness. The depiction of secular content through compositional patterns taken from ancient art was not new. Artists had already done so in previous centuries, especially in the 19th century. However, Geiger used it uniquely, giving the event a universal and timeless dimension. Willi Geiger was born in 1878 in Schönbrunn near Landshut and died in 1971 in Munich. He studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Munich and then at the Academy of Art, where he studied with Franz von Stuck from 1902 to 1905. The works of the Symbolists, his friendship with the Expressionists Jules Pascin, Rudolf Levy, who came from Szczecin, Hans Purrmann, and a study trip to Spain influenced his work. His artistic specialisation was made possible by a one-year scholarship, the Villa Romana Prize, thanks to which he improved his skills in Florence, working with Ernst Barlach. He was a painter, graphic artist and teacher. He worked in Berlin, Munich and Leipzig. He lectured at the School of Arts and Crafts in Munich, after the Second World War at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and at the State Academy of Graphic Arts and Book Crafts in Leipzig in 1928-1933. He was close to the style of New Objectivity and Surrealism. He undertook the design of ex libris and illustrations, working in etching and lithographic techniques.

Ewa Gwiazdowska