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Kölner Bettler II (Cologne Beggars II)

1972
(German, 1941–2010)
Germany, 20th century
Offset lithograph from photographs by Polke
Image: 32.9 x 44 cm (12 15/16 x 17 5/16 in.); Paper: 42.8 x 60.6 cm (16 7/8 x 23 7/8 in.)
Gift of Tom E. Hinson and Diana S. Tittle 2022.65
Edition: Edition 51/100
Impression: 51
Location: not on view
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

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Did You Know?

German artist Sigmar Polke’s prints shares with American Pop Art the growing influence of advertising and the media in the 1960s.

Description

Instead of focusing on celebrities and consumer goods like Andy Warhol, Sigmar Polke used commonplace, unglamorous scenes as the basis of his images such as this violinist (identified in the work’s title as a beggar) playing in the streets of Cologne. Polke also used the most economical, prosaic means to reproduce the image—photolithography—rather than the vibrant screen print medium favored by American Pop artists.
Kölner Bettler II (Cologne Beggars II)

Kölner Bettler II (Cologne Beggars II)

1972

Sigmar Polke

(German, 1941–2010)
Germany, 20th century

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