The King and the Jester

Artist Christian Rohlfs (German, 1849-1938)

CultureGerman

Date1919

MediumOil on linen

DimensionsOverall: 40 1/4 x 36 1/2 in. (102.2 x 92.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of Marjory Spindle Strauss

Object number94.20

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on linen painting. "Executed by Rohlfs in 1919 at the age of 70, THE KING AND THE JESTER is a splendid example of the artist's Expressionist style, with its translucent, emotionally-charged figures and mystical spirituality. This painting signaled Rohlf's return to oil painting after a decade of working in tempera and watercolor. With its uneasy, enigmatic mood and phantom-like figures delineated by heavy black contours, this work is typical of Rohlf's late style and grounds him firmly into the twentieth-century."