Portrait, Every Picture tells a Story

[münster]

Hi

This was aquired in private and the story is

The Grandfather had this portrait painted of him in the war.

It was done by a Polish artist in a slave labor camp.

In the background of the painting you can see the camp tower.

Flipping it over I noticed it was done on reverse canvas of another painting.

I noticed the other painting had Yiddish characters on the paper laying on the table.

The painting really tells the story,I found it interesting.

Best,
Dion

[münster]

2

[petopoint]

Very well painted

A nicely drawn portrait indeed knowing of the circumstances under which it was drawn.
Certainly one and it's environs that you would not "normally" encounter. I hope it wasn't a painted over Picasso, Rembrandt or Claude Monet?

[Mike Davis]

Nicely done, excellent detail

[jmark]

I wonder if the camp/location can be identified? If so, a possible ID of the officer could be made.

Note the big pyramid structures. They look like giant slag heaps / spoil mounds.

Jason

[Mil-Archive]

That is an interesting painting, very nicely done in my opinion. I'd be interested to know what the Yiddish characters say, it could help id the reverse side painting.

[Thälmannpionier]

i would put some research in the yiddish painting ..the quality and subject is very interesting.. is it just a coutout from a bigger canvas? maybe worth to restore

[chrischa]

Hello.

It would be interesting to know why an army NCO was stationed around the slave labour camp for clearly an amount of time to have the painting completed.

The use of the jewish painting for me represents the dominance of Germany over other people (getting all physcological now).

Nice find.

Chris.

[münster]

I think it is worth researching what the painting on the reverse was.

[Alan Smith]

Dion,

It sounds like you may know (or may be able to track down) the family of the vet the painting came from. Having the identity of the German officer would permit you to obtain his service records which, I suspect, will help identify the location depicted in the painting.

If it has not already been done by you or other collectors, the identify and any details of the German vet's service need to be documented and kept with the painting.

Nice find and thanks for posting.

Alan

[Jean-Loup]

The frontal painting is interesting, but not as interesting as 'Newspaper on a table' by Goldberg, missing from the National Art Gallery of Prague since 1941.

Indeed, you should find out the ID of the officer.

[chrischa]

Hello.

The man is a non commissioned officer not an officer. Feldwebel type rank.

Regards,
Chris.

[Jean-Loup]

I wonder if the background really depicts a camp. There are several large piles of earth that seem to indicate a region with (coal?) mines, including one pile of earth right beside the 'watchtower', and that is much taller then the watchtower itself.
I wonder if the watchtower could infact have something to do with a coal mine, as no prisoners are visible, no nicely lined up barracks, no barbed wire fence, no other watchtowers...

[Paul E]

Maybe a camp in the Silesian coalfields ??

[jmark]

The frontal painting is interesting, but not as interesting as 'Newspaper on a table' by Goldberg, missing from the National Art Gallery of Prague since 1941.

Are you being serious? If so, wow!!!

I wonder if the background really depicts a camp. There are several large piles of earth that seem to indicate a region with (coal?) mines, including one pile of earth right beside the 'watchtower', and that is much taller then the watchtower itself.
I wonder if the watchtower could infact have something to do with a coal mine, as no prisoners are visible, no nicely lined up barracks, no barbed wire fence, no other watchtowers...

That's what I suggested earlier. I have several photos that show mounds like this. Attached below is a photo showing a spoil mound in Makeyevka in the Donetsk industrial region, famous for coal mining (note that the buildings look similar to the ones in the painting).

Maybe a camp in the Silesian coalfields ??

To me, this looks like Russia, dare I say winter 1942-43.

Jason