Samoans (Samoanerinnen)
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Object Label
In 1910 the paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi and a handpicked entourage of singers and dancers traveled to Germany from Samoa—then a German colony—for what colonial officials had framed as a diplomatic mission. Although Tamasese did secure meetings with many German dignitaries, he was dismayed to discover the true purpose of the visit: to have his troupe stage cultural shows for European audiences in zoos.
In this depiction of a performance, Erich Heckel’s abstracted style likely takes inspiration from art of the Pacific Islands, a place German artists idealized as untouched by modern forces. Yet his primitivized portrayal of the dancers—which distorts both their bodies and the costuming recorded in photographs—reflects the modern dynamic of colonial exploitation that shaped this encounter.
Caption
Erich Heckel German, 1883–1970. Samoans (Samoanerinnen), 1911. Woodcut on laid paper, Image: 8 1/16 x 13 1/4 in. (20.5 x 33.7 cm) Sheet: 10 x 18 1/4 in. (25.4 x 46.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 38.796. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 38.796_PS2.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Samoans (Samoanerinnen)
Date
1911
Geography
Place made: Germany
Medium
Woodcut on laid paper
Classification
Dimensions
Image: 8 1/16 x 13 1/4 in. (20.5 x 33.7 cm) Sheet: 10 x 18 1/4 in. (25.4 x 46.4 cm)
Signatures
Signed, "Erich Heckel '11" lower right margin, in pencil
Inscriptions
Lower left: illegible; lower right in graphite: "Erich Heckel 11" Verso lower center in graphite: "38.796."
Markings
Verso lower center: "BROOKLYN MUSEUM/BROOKLYN, N.Y." in rectangle (Lugt 307b)
Credit Line
By exchange
Accession Number
38.796
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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