Walter Spies - Act of Transformation - 1920
Act of Transformation Framed by a long red curtain drawn to the side, the artist depicts a multi-figured scene in the style of magical realism. From a partially extreme perspective, an orchestra pit with a classical orchestra playing is shown in the foreground, while a dancer performs as "Carmen" on the stage. She also appears in parallel as a nude figure while changing behind a transparent screen and her buttocks appear in the mirror of her dressing table. If this weren't surrealistic enough, Spies also uses strong, spatial, perspective distortion effects in this picture, so that the musicians, who are actually sitting, almost appear to be lying down towards the bottom edge of the picture to the viewer. The "Carmen" figure shown may have been inspired by Pola Negri's portrayal of "Carmen" as a femme fatale in the famous film by Ernst Lubitsch, which premiered in Berlin in December 1918, in which she wore a comparable costume. Created around 1920, the important painting - one of the earliest known in the artist's oeuvre - marks a beginning and turning point in his highly extraordinary, eventful and adventurous life - LotSearch - Finding Treasure’s
Size: 2430px × 3060px
Photo credit: © steeve-x-art / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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