Artwork Page for Head of Gerda Boehm

Details / Information for Head of Gerda Boehm

Head of Gerda Boehm

1981

Frank Auerbach

(British, 1931–2024)
Culture
England, 20th century
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Unframed: 64.1 x 61 cm (25 1/4 x 24 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1982.38
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In his portraits, Auerbach is more interested in capturing personality, emotion, and form than representing the person’s likeness. This is a portrait of his cousin Gerda, presented as a series of shared experiences between the artist and sitter. By scraping and building up the canvas surface with thick paint he creates abstracted figures. As he said about painting portraits, “Nothing can be left out…you have to bury the irrelevant in the painting somehow,” evident in the painting’s overwhelming sculptural thickness. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1982.38

Head of Gerda Boehm

1981

Frank Auerbach

(British, 1931–2024)
England, 20th century

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