Lot 322 Dα

It is remarkable how this portrait of a dancer is dominated by the colour red, namely, a single tone of red - an “all-over” that weaves together the dress, the fabric-covered wall of the background, the armchair cover and even the rug. As though placed before a red foil, the flesh tones are set off strikingly and surround, so to speak, the artist who is depicted absorbed in deep concentration.
Stylistically to be classified as “Neue Sachlichkeit”, or “New Objectivity”, the depicted space and the figure are realised in a two-dimensional manner with fluid brushwork; the black bob cut places this elegant-looking anonymous portrait in an urban artists' dressing room of the 1920s.
From 1925 the painter Willy Jaeckel had re-established himself in Berlin after moving to Bavaria some years before: he frequented the salons and important cafes, was a member of various clubs and was friends with numerous other artists. He created flamboyant portraits of dancers like Leni Riefenstahl or Tatjana Barbakoff and other emancipated individuals from the scene in Berlin.