Print I
Print
1971 (published)
1971 (published)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Works by the Conceptual artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) take many forms. A number of them involve the use of felt and fat, a reference to a traumatic experience in his youth. In 1943, while serving in the German Air Force, his aircraft crashed in the Crimea in winter. He was rescued by nomadic Tatars, who treated his wounds with fat and wrapped him in felt to keep him alive. In this print and its pair in the V&A (E.945-1981), he pays tribute to his rescuers with the symbolic image of the felt suit (which was an actual garment made by Beuys and which reappears in other works) and a cross that recalls both selflessness and survival kits.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Titles |
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Materials and techniques | Printed paper, inscribed by hand in ink |
Brief description | 'Druck I' by Josef Beuys. Letterpress on paper. 1971 |
Physical description | print on paper |
Dimensions |
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Styles | |
Production type | Limited edition |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Production | This print is one of a pair, the other, of the same image but printed with sulphur powder, is also in the collection: E. 495-1971 |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Works by the Conceptual artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) take many forms. A number of them involve the use of felt and fat, a reference to a traumatic experience in his youth. In 1943, while serving in the German Air Force, his aircraft crashed in the Crimea in winter. He was rescued by nomadic Tatars, who treated his wounds with fat and wrapped him in felt to keep him alive. In this print and its pair in the V&A (E.945-1981), he pays tribute to his rescuers with the symbolic image of the felt suit (which was an actual garment made by Beuys and which reappears in other works) and a cross that recalls both selflessness and survival kits. |
Bibliographic reference | Timmers, Margaret (ed), Impressions of the Twentieth Century: Fine Art Prints from the V&A's Collection, London, V&A Publications, 2001
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.496-1981 |
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Record created | December 4, 2002 |
Record URL |
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