Christian Schad (1894-1982) - Zwei Frauen

Christian Schad (1894-1982), Zwei Frauen, 1915.

Woodcut on solid Velin, 17.2 x 12 cm on 58.5 x 41.5 cm, titled, number (ed. a.), signed and dated.

Literature: Richter 10

Provenance: Private collection Berlin, from the estate of Christian Schad's widow.

Condition: Very good. Photos are part of the condition description.

The woodcut “Tabarin” by Christian Schad was created in 1917 during his early period shaped by Expressionism and Dada. The title refers to Tabarin, the legendary French jester and buffoon of the 17th century, who stands as a symbol for theater, masquerade, and social outsider status. With its stark black-and-white contrasts and expressive formal language, Schad condenses this figure into an allegory of staging, identity, and the rupture with bourgeois conventions. The rare woodcut anticipates central themes that the artist would later pursue in his work of the New Objectivity.

Biography
He was a German painter and graphic artist, known as a major representative of the New Objectivity. He studied in Munich, lived in Switzerland and Paris, before settling in Berlin. His works are characterized by a precise, almost photorealistic painting style that critically portrayed the society of the 1920s. He became famous for his experimental “ Schadographien” — early forms of photogram technique. Schad's art continues to influence modern portrait painting to this day.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Christian Schad again turned to printmaking, especially linocuts. During this period he spent time in Italy on several occasions, including in Venice, where he drew inspiration from classical art and architecture. His linocuts from this phase often depict mythological and religious motifs and reflect an intense engagement with traditional printing techniques. These works mark a late but significant expansion of his artistic oeuvre.