Image

Sophie Von Hellermann

Her Death Was Hysterical
Now On View

Description

Maker

Sophie Von Hellermann (German, b. 1975)

Title

Her Death Was Hysterical

Year

2005

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

210.8 x 177.8 cm (83 x 70 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Craig and Lynn Jacobson

Object Number

2017.91.2

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Sep 01, 2026

Label copy

Death is depicted here as a whimsical skeleton dancing in a romantic, dreamlike setting. Von Hellermann typically applies pure pigment to unprimed canvas using broad-brushed washes, imbuing her work with a sense of weightlessness. Drawing inspiration from fables, legends, and classical mythology, she blurs the lines between the real and the imaginary.

-Wai Yee Chiong, associate curator of Asian art

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Sophie Von Hellermann (German, b. 1975)
Her Death Was Hysterical, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
210.8 x 177.8 cm (83 x 70 inches)
Gift of Craig and Lynn Jacobson 2017.91.2

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.