Rudolf Großmann

The portfolio Zeitgenossen (Contemporaries) (1925) contains seventeen portraits depicting various contemporary figures – Wilhelm von Bode, Max Liebermann, Thomas Mann, Julius Meier-Graefe, as well as Benito Mussolini and Pope Pius XI, to name but a few. The compilation, made by Großmann himself, raises more questions than it answers: does the portfolio present an objective picture of society that is as comprehensive as possible, or a highly subjective one? Is it to be understood as a mirror of the times? Why did Großmann make this particular selection? Which models did he use? How does he treat the image of man as part of a society? “The portrait artist [Großmann] inhabits his subjects as does an actor, who slips into his roles,” writes Hans Weigert in the foreword to the portfolio. In his portraits, Großmann depicts his subjects in complete isolation, capturing the person in question using the manifold technical possibilities of representation that the classic discipline of portraiture has to offer. Not infrequently, there is a flash of Großmann’s sardonic humour and sarcastic sense of superiority, but also his reverence and sensitivity towards the people he drew.