Otto DIX, Totentanz anno 17 (Hohe Toter Mann) [Dance of death 1917 - Dead Man's Hill], plate 19 from Der Krieg
INTERNATIONAL ART |

Otto DIX

1891 Germany – 1969

  • Switzerland


Totentanz anno 17 (Hohe Toter Mann)
[Dance of death 1917 - Dead Man's Hill], plate 19 from Der Krieg
  • plate 19 from the portfolio Der Krieg [War], a portfolio of 50 prints in 5 parts, plus 1 additional print
 Print, Intaglio
Technique: etching, aquatint, drypoint
Edition: ed 58/70
Publisher: Verlag Karl Nierendorf
Primary Insc: l.l.c- 58/70; l.c- IX; l.r.c - signed in pencil by the artist
printing plate 24.5 h x 30.0 w cm
sheet size max 35.3 h x 47.5 w cm
The Poynton Bequest 2003
Accession No: NGA 2003.352.19
© Otto Dix, Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia

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The dramatic power of this image relies almost entirely on the tonal contrasts realised through a technique known as aquatint. Dix recalled:
I suddenly got very interested in etching. I had a lot to say, I had a subject. Wash off the acid, put on the aquatint: a wonderful technique that you can use to get as many different shades and tones as you want. The 'doing' aspect of art becomes tremendously interesting when you start doing etchings; you get to be a real alchemist.
In aquatinting, particles of rosin are dusted onto the etching plate and fused to it by heating, the acid biting the plate between them to give an even tone. Here Dix aimed for four main tones: white, two greys, and black. Given Dix's subject matter, a comparison with Henri Matisse's painting Dance 1910 may seem bizarre, but it does work to convince us that what the artist achieved here truly is a Danse macabre; a dance of death.
See Matisse's painting Dance 1910 at hermitagemuseum.org