Die Besitzkröten [Toads of Property]
About this artwork
This drawing was made while Grosz was working with the Berlin Dada group. It shows three industrialists counting their riches, while the poor and war-wounded stand in the background. The man in the bottom right of the picture wears a swastika tie pin. Grosz claimed that he made this drawing, and others like it, to reveal to the oppressed the true faces of their rulers. Indeed, he has made the three men look ugly and corrupt. However, his work seems to caricature the poor as much as the rich.
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title:Die Besitzkröten [Toads of Property]
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accession number:GMA 2102
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materials:Pen and ink on paper
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date created:1920
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measurements:52.70 x 41.10 cm (framed: 79.37 x 66.67 x 2.54 cm)
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credit line:Purchased 1979
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copyright:© Estate of George Grosz, Princeton, N.J. / DACS 2018.
George Grosz
George Grosz
Grosz was born in Berlin. He was enlisted in 1914 but discharged on medical grounds in 1915. After his time spent in the army, Grosz developed a hatred of the military. As a protest against the campaign of hatred being incited against the enemy, he anglicized his name from 'Georg'…