A George Grosz Berlin Street Scene

I think George Grosz treats this well-to-do Berlin couple as symbols of decadence and moral indifference. They may have stylish clothes, but they seem to be on display and aloof from society, at least at street level. The woman's face is masked by makeup and protected from the elements by her fur collar, while the man's face appears ghoulish and fatigued. They seem distant even from each other.

In contrast, the New York Street Scene Grosz did two years later which I showed in a recent post depicts a comfortable mixing of the social classes, and everyone is generally engaged with each other.

George Grosz, Street Scene, Berlin, 1930

http://www.sothebys.com/en/catalogues/ecatalogue.html/2011/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n08851#/r=/en/ecat.fhtml.N08851.html+r.m=/en/ecat.lot.N08851.html/227/

George Grosz, Street Scene, Berlin, 1930

http://www.sothebys.com/en/catalogues/ecatalogue.html/2011/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n08851#/r=/en/ecat.fhtml.N08851.html+r.m=/en/ecat.lot.N08851.html/227/

Note:  You can view the very different New York street scene by George Grosz from my recent post here.

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