Reiner Schwarz (*1940), The Dirndl Model, 1969 / - The Strangeness Of The Homeland -

Reiner Schwarz (*1940 Hirschberg), The Dirndl Model, 1969. Lithograph, 33 cm x 26 (depiction), 59 cm x 42 cm (sheet size), signed “R.[einer] Schwarz” in pencil lower right, dated “[19]69”, identified as copy no. 4/100 lower left and inscribed “Das Dirndl-Modell” in the center.
- in excellent condition  



- The strangeness of the homeland -


Since only the laced bodice of the dirndl is emphasized, the dirndl model presents herself rather than the dirndl. With the reptilian skin of an exotic animal she outgrows the traditional costume. The body is modeled by hump-like bulges and appears ugly at first glance, precisely because the expectation of a beautiful figure is aroused by the dirndl, especially since the profile in combination with the classically presented neck emphasizes feminine grace. And yet the model reveals a peculiar beauty combined with a deep seriousness, which makes the dirndl an entirely appropriate piece of clothing.



About the artist

After being expelled from Hirschberg in Silesia, Reiner Schwarz spent his youth in Hannover. In 1960 he began studying at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin with Mac Zimmermann and produced his first lithographs. In 1962 he made study trips to Florence and Venice, and in 1965 to Rome. He was particularly fascinated by Italian art, Sienese painting, and Mannerism. His first solo exhibition at the Galerie Schnoor in Bremen in 1964 was the beginning of more than 150 exhibitions in Germany and abroad. In 1974 Reiner Schwarz established a print studio in Berlin, where he perfected the technique of lithography, using up to 17 colors on various tone papers. In 1987, his artistic encounter with Rolf Münzer and Peter Schnürpel at the Kätelhön print studio inspired him to explore the world of "abandoned and lonely" everyday objects as melancholy traces of memory instead of people. Initially, he used large-format wrapping paper from the GDR. In 1990 Schwarz became a member of the Künstlersonderbund in Germany. Galerie Brusberg, which represented the artist for more than 20 years, published a catalogue raisonné of Reiner Schwarz's lithographs in 1984.  


"He does not want to be just a draughtsman, but an interpreter, a reinterpreter, a metaphorist who creates mutants and thus visualizes the invisible, the known and the seemingly banal that is about to be transformed into eternity; the brief moment of an all too fleeting present, nature next to nature, reality next to reality. It is therefore a subversive realism that questions our everyday thinking, that refuses to grasp things quickly by means of exaggerated precision, that thwarts cognition, denatures the world and melts it into a pictorial puzzle [...]".

Edwin Kratschmer