We are pleased to highlight portraits of Julia Feininger (1880–1970) by two artists: her husband, Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956) and the couple’s friend, Otto Dix (1891–1969).
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Portrait of Julia Feininger), 1913
Pencil on paper
8 x 6 3/8 in. (20.3 x 16.2 cm)
Dated lower right: tues. Feb. 11. 13
Otto Dix (1891–1969)
(Portrait of Julia Feininger), 1922
Watercolor and pencil on paper
19 1/2 x 14 3/8 in. (49.5 x 36.5 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: DIX 22
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Portrait of Julia Feininger in Profile), 1913
Pencil on paper
8 x 6 1/4 in. (20.3 x 15.9 cm)
Dated upper right: 1911
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Portrait of Julia Feininger), 1915
Crayon on paper
9 3/8 x 12 3/8 in. (23.8 x 31.4 cm)
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Family Study, Julia Feininger), 1908
Ink on paper
5 7/8 x 5 in. (14.9 x 12.7 cm)
Dated upper right: WED APR 8 08
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Julia Feininger, London), 1908
Ink on paper
5 1/3 x 4 1/6 in. (13.5 x 10.6 cm)
Inscribed and dated lower right: london Apl. 08
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Portrait Study of Julia), 1913
Oil on canvas
24 1/2 x 19 11/16 in. (62.3 x 50 cm)
Moeller 116 | Private collection
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Woman’s Head with Green Eyes), 1915
Oil on canvas
28 x 24 1/2 in. (71.1 x 62.2 cm)
Moeller 146 | Bequest of Morton D. May, The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis (887:1983)
Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Woman with Blue Hair), 1927
Oil on canvas
30 7/8 x 26 13/16 in. (78.5 x 68 cm)
Moeller 307 | Private collection
Julia and Lyonel Feininger, 1929
Photo: Unknown
"First there are no good portraits of me, none at all, and second, if anyone could make one at all, it could only be you and no other being."
—Letter from Julia Berg to Lyonel Feininger, November 2, 1905
Otto Dix, 1920
Photo: Hugo Erfurth
"Dix comes along like a natural disaster: outrageous, inexplicably devastating, like the explosion of a volcano. One never knows what to expect from this wild man. Again and again, he turns the helm to new shores and, like Proteus, transforms his ability, changing objects, points of view and techniques."
— Paul Ferdinand Schmidt on the occasion of the artist's retrospective in Berlin, 1922