拍品專文
In 1922 Dix moved from Dresden to Düsseldorf where he met the celebrated art dealer Johanna "Mutter" Ey and became associated with "Das junge Rheinland" group of artists. The Cologne dealer Karl Nierendorf became his sole agent and encouraged Dix to produce a large quantity of watercolours (so big that Nierendorf was to term it an "arbeitswut") which were an easier source of income during the inflationary years of the early 1920s than the sale of oil paintings. This strategy was so successful that by 1927 Dix ceased selling his watercolours, preferring to store them. On the best of them, such as Sadisten gewidmet, he inscribed the notation "Unverkäuflich" to indicate that they were not for sale.
Dix's main subject matter of the early 1920s were the prostitutes, beggars and other social outcasts of the Weimar Republic society. His aim was to depict the harsh realities of their social position, "Ich nehme in meinen Bildern immer wieder Stellung und Zeige, was in wirklichkeit ist und was nun der Wahrheit willen gesagt werden muss" (W. Schmidt, Würdigung des Preisträgers, Otto Dix, Salzburg, 1968, p. 9). In doing so he immersed himself in their social millieu and identified with their experiences. "Du musst alles selber sein! Selber musst Du es Sein! Sonst bist Du'n Theoretiker, 'n dummer Theoretiker. Was verstehst Du denn von Sünde wenn Du sie nicht be.. begangen hast und gesehn hast. Gar nischt, is'ne reine Theorië
(S. Pfäffle, Otto Dix Werkverzeichnis der Aquarelle und Gouachen, Stuttgart, 1985, p. 280)
In 1922 Dix produced a series of three watercolours devoted to the theme of female lesbian sadomasochism: Traum der Sadistin I, Traum der Sadistin II and the present work Sadisten gewidmet. Whereas Traum der Sadistin I and II are representations of sadomasochistic activities, Sadisten gewidmet is a character study of two women in their torture chamber surrounded by the tools of their trade. The alluring figure of the younger, full-breasted girl stands, with her bestockinged foot astride a stool wearing a corset and with a suggestive tatoo on her arm, proudly clasping a whip behind her back. The more scantily clad older woman, also holding a whip and with a pistol belt on her waist, stands before a table on which is placed a skull and looks back towards the recently used torture table which is symbolically adorned with a cross.
Dix's main subject matter of the early 1920s were the prostitutes, beggars and other social outcasts of the Weimar Republic society. His aim was to depict the harsh realities of their social position, "Ich nehme in meinen Bildern immer wieder Stellung und Zeige, was in wirklichkeit ist und was nun der Wahrheit willen gesagt werden muss" (W. Schmidt, Würdigung des Preisträgers, Otto Dix, Salzburg, 1968, p. 9). In doing so he immersed himself in their social millieu and identified with their experiences. "Du musst alles selber sein! Selber musst Du es Sein! Sonst bist Du'n Theoretiker, 'n dummer Theoretiker. Was verstehst Du denn von Sünde wenn Du sie nicht be.. begangen hast und gesehn hast. Gar nischt, is'ne reine Theorië
(S. Pfäffle, Otto Dix Werkverzeichnis der Aquarelle und Gouachen, Stuttgart, 1985, p. 280)
In 1922 Dix produced a series of three watercolours devoted to the theme of female lesbian sadomasochism: Traum der Sadistin I, Traum der Sadistin II and the present work Sadisten gewidmet. Whereas Traum der Sadistin I and II are representations of sadomasochistic activities, Sadisten gewidmet is a character study of two women in their torture chamber surrounded by the tools of their trade. The alluring figure of the younger, full-breasted girl stands, with her bestockinged foot astride a stool wearing a corset and with a suggestive tatoo on her arm, proudly clasping a whip behind her back. The more scantily clad older woman, also holding a whip and with a pistol belt on her waist, stands before a table on which is placed a skull and looks back towards the recently used torture table which is symbolically adorned with a cross.