View Entire Visual Arts Library      View Artists      View Motifs      Curator List     

Visual Arts Library

Self-Portrait with Key at Camp St. Cyprien


Click for larger image

Artist: Felix Nussbaum
Date: 1941
Medium: Oil on plywood
Dimensions: 47.2 x 55.1 cm
Event: Holocaust
Motif: Faces  



Imprisonment at St. Cyprien had a deep impact on Nussbaum's life. It was here that he fully realized the dangers of his situation. In despair, he painted this self portrait in front of the barbed wire. In a lamenting gesture, he is hitting his chest. His features are distorted with pain and rage. He wears a medieval Jew cap. Though previously distant from aspects of his Jewish heritage, Nussbaum here assumes the posture and rituals of Jewish prayer.

Credits: © 2001 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.