German Day, Part 2 - The Art of Sascha Schneider

I recently came across some additions to my collection of the works of Sascha Schneider, and thought I'd share some.  (Click on his label at right for some past posts and some biography.)  I'm starting with a typical piece that shows a man who seems to be about to struggle with some ogres.  This is a common motif in Schneider's art, and sometimes it's hard to tell if the protagonist is a hero or a victim.

 

Question

I find this drawing to be quite impressive, but I'm left questioning if it was

 a study or perhaps a student work from his academic time.

 

Geniuses

This is "The Geniuses of History" and is interesting on a couple of levels.  First, Schneider died in 1927, and I have to wonder if the symbolism of the light bulbs going on over their heads is something he came up with on his own.  I'm used to seeing it in mid-20th Century cartoons.  Second, this is an example of Schneider's tendency to leave the pubic hair out of his frontal nudes despite the fact that he sometimes ventured into almost hyper masculinity.  Makes no sense.  Even the Greeks and Romans left a little crotch fur on their art works.

 

Another ?

This is another work that I can't decide if it's an early academic 

work or a study for something more elaborate.

 

St. George?

I found this nameless Sascha Schneider piece on an art blog,

and I think it may be his take on Saint George and the Dragon.

 

German Day, Part 2 - Sascha Schneider's Art

Sascha Schneider, shown here in his studio with a number of male nude works, was a master of homoerotic art in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  Click on the label or google him for some biographical details.  Today's art series features five of his pieces.

 

Foreboding

Much of Sascha Schneider's work had both mystical and foreboding themes.  The translation of the title for this work is "Feeling of Dependency."  I might have gone with "Feeling of Being about to be Overwhelmed."  Or maybe eaten.  Oh, well. He painted it, and he got to name it.

 

Study

This appears to be a study for one of Schneider's larger works.

It shows an excellent representation of the male form.

 

Warrior

 

Schneider used red tones effectively in "The Warrior."

Winnetou Illustration

Karl May did a whole series of Native American themed German language novels called Winnetou.

Sascha Schneider illustrated them, and this is a mystically themed example.  Note the feather.

 

Classical

This 1913 Sascha Schneider drawing is called "The Victor" 

and follows one of his typical Classical Greek motifs.

 

Sascha Schneider, Part 2 - G-rated . . . mostly

Part 2 of our Sascha Schneider double feature includes some very homoerotic drawing with very restrained or no nudity.  Maxfield Parrish, anyone?

What can I say about this highly homoerotic fly-by 

except that Sascha Schneider may have been a genius?

This is a personal favorite.  I love the way the standing man is looking over the other guy who seems like he might be Jesus.  Also, note that there is an image of another nearly nude man on the standing man's loincloth.  And then there's that huge wing in the background.  Delightfully strange!

This is a post card distributed in pre-Soviet Russia depicting Satan and Christ.

I think the Cyrillic translates as "Schneider Accomplished."  It is a good example of how the artist would push the limits on nudity by heavily shadowing male genitals.

Ending the series with a Schneider illustration for Karl May's Der Schut, or The Scab in English.

Sascha Schneider, Part 1 - R-rated Art

Sascha Schneider (1870-1927) was a German painter, illustrator, and sculptor who pushed the limits of both the art and social conventions of his time.  I'm doing a different format for today's Friday art and featuring Schneider's work in both halves of a double feature, starting with some nudes.  For more interesting biographical details, click on the label and look at the earlier posts.

Judas Iscariot was the subject of this edgy Schneider painting.

All kinds of interesting symbolism here.

The nascent late 19th C. bodybuilding scene attracted Sascha Schneider, and he was known to recruit models from gyms.  This untitled work might reflect that tendency.

Sascha Schneider made a very good living producing cover art and illustrations for the adventure books of Karl May, the best selling writer in the history of German literature.  Schneider had to sometimes restrain his nudity for these works, but derrieres were common and there was an occasional shadowy penis to be found if one looked hard enough, no pun intended.