Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Image with id "VbZVt" not found, published, or embeddable.

Otto Dix

Illusion Act (Illusionsakt)

Description

Maker

Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969

Title

Illusion Act (Illusionsakt)
from the portfolio Zirkus

Year

1922

Medium

  • Etching with drypoint on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Etching with drypoint on paper

Supports

  • wove paper

Dimensions

Plate: 29.9 x 25.5 cm (11 3/4 x 10 1/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in graphite on recto, LL below image: Prob. Aus der Mappe Zirkus; in graphite on recto, LR below image: DIX; in graphite LC:"Illusionsakt". Inscribed in blue pencil on verso, UL: I

Identification

State

Plate 2 from the portfolio Radierwerk IV "Zirkus" 10 Radierungen. Artist's proof.

Edition

self published by the artist in an edition of 50 impressions

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

2012.115

Type

  • Work on Paper

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 3: Circus

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

A Chorus of Chirps, Hums, and Buzzes
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Japanese Print Gallery
May 24, 2019 – Nov 10, 2019
Circus
Aug 01, 2014 – Feb 22, 2015

Label copy

The magician conjures an illusion familiar to audiences of this period: the Human Spider, an act first developed by Henry Roltair, whose hall of illusions was featured in the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Otto Dix’s heavy use of drypoint, a printmaking technique that results in soft-edged lines, adds a dreamlike quality to this image, heightening its mystery.

In the wake of World War I, Dix used his artwork to critique German bourgeois society. He felt great sympathy for circus performers and others on the fringe of society. This print is one in a portfolio of ten etchings which included images of trick riders, a tattooed lady, and an animal tamer.

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

Otto Dix (German, 1891-1969
b. in Untermhaus, Germany)
Illusion Act (Illusionsakt); from the portfolio Zirkus, 1922
Etching with drypoint on paper
Plate: 29.9 x 25.5 cm (11 3/4 x 10 1/16 inches)
Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 2012.115

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

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use