Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Amerikanischer Reiterakt (American Riding Act)

Preview image of work. drypoint on paper, Amerikanischer Reiterakt (American Riding Act) 7392

1968.117

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Amerikanischer Reiterakt (American Riding Act)

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Artist

Otto Dix (1891 - 1969)

Title

Amerikanischer Reiterakt (American Riding Act)

Creation Date

1922

Century

20th century

Dimensions

13 9/16 in. x 12 1/8 in. (34.45 cm. x 30.8 cm.)

Object Type

Creation Place

Europe, Germany

Medium and Support

drypoint on paper

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Helen Johnson Chase Fund

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

1968.117

In Otto Dix’s print only three elements—Indians, horses and the American flag—are in frame. Rough and thick lines are carved within a compact space, invoking a sense of tension and anxiety. Dix’s Indians stand on horseback, wearing huge war bonnets and carrying guns and axes, underscoring their masculinity and violent resistance. Dix was likely inspired by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show or other imitators who presented stereotypical Indians in staged performances in Germany. In this exemplary German Expressionist print, Dix foregrounds the Indians’ longing for freedom and a refusal to submit. Having endured the brutalities of World War I and the excesses of the Weimar Republic, Dix may have endeavored to regain his courage through this depiction of hard-charging Native Americans.