Der Snob c. 1928

Karl Wiener conjured this colorful watercolor interior during a tumultuous era. The snob in question is captured in strokes of turquoise and fiery red-orange. I can almost feel Wiener dabbing, flooding, and pushing the watercolor around, coaxing the image into being. I wonder, was it a playful jab at the intellectual elite or a mirror reflecting a complicated self-portrait? The titles on the bookshelf behind the figure give a clue; Nietzsche, Goethe, next to what looks like liquor and cigars—a heady mix of high and low culture! The juxtaposition of these elements speaks to a tension, a questioning of values. It is fun to see how he's taken some of the same risks with color that the Fauves took. I think of Henri Matisse who understood that paintings are a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty and inviting multiple interpretations. Just like this piece, and all painting for that matter.