Human Pictures

Warburg as Maenad, 1961-1962
© R.B. Kitaj Estate. Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf

In the 70s and 80s, Kitaj painted a series of figure paintings which differed from the complex themes of his earlier work. These images ushered in a new phase of his career in which Kitaj worked intensively with the human form, experimented with new materials such as pastels, and modified his technique. In this time, Kitaj directly confronted his own Jewishness and began to formulate his initial thoughts on his concept of a Diasporic art. The tour examines the extent to which the notion of a Diasporic identity is present in Kitaj’s human pictures.