Christian Schad

Christian Schad (1894–1982) is considered one of the most important representatives of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). Sometimes realistic to the point of exaggeration, his famous portraits mirror society in the “Golden Twenties” on the edge of political upheaval and social injustice. The radical and unique character of his images of artists, leading citizens, aristocrats and other cultural figures have had an influence on a diverse range of realistic tendencies in art to this very day.
Schad’s œuvre is characterised by constant experimentation, an ongoing dialogue with artistic tradition, and innovation. In Switzerland, where he fled to avoid military service in 1915, he joined the Dada Movement. In this avant-garde context he began to create his Schadographs (photographs made without a camera or a lens), which were already featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1937 and have contributed considerably – along with his portraits – to his world renown. His first paintings in the style of Neue Sachlichkeit were created in Italy in 1923. After returning to Germany, Schad painted numerous highly convincing portraits during the 1940s and began to devote himself to expressive painting. In the early 1960s he turned to Magical Realism as well as resuming work on his photograms.
This catalogue raisonné published by the Christian-Schad-Stiftung Aschaffenburg (CSSA) is based on an initial collection of materials assembled by the artist’s widow, Bettina Schad (1921–2002). In 2000 she established the foundation (CSSA) together with the city of Aschaffenburg, it now holds over 800 works by the artist as well as all of his private effects.
After extensive research, the art historian Dr. Thomas Ratzka has now provided us with this standard work on Christian Schad’s painting. It is the first of four planned volumes of a catalogue raisonné to be published in German and English. The introduction offers a comprehensive assessment and classification of his extensive work within its contemporary context.