Wozu ängstigen 1943

"Wozu ängstigen" (Why Worry?) was painted in 1943 by Karl Wiener, a German artist born in 1901 and who died in 1949. The painting depicts a skull with a toothy smile, set in a forest of tall, slender trees. The image uses an expressive, almost childlike style to contrast the somber subject matter. The bright blue, turquoise, and green hues contribute to the eerie, almost unsettling feel of the work. The subject of death and the symbolic forest imagery were common themes in Wiener's work, and this painting reflects the anxieties of the era.