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The Dance on the Volcano
GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM AT THE WADSWORTH
March 19 – May 30, 2021
Spurred by the recent acquisition of Georg Tappert’s Geisha-Revue, The Dance on the Volcano sheds new light on our collection of German Expressionism. The gaudy nightclub scene, painted with garish colors in a cacophonic composition, is exemplary of the vibrant artistic life in Berlin before the outbreak of World War I. Tappert shows several Geisha dancers gathering under a cherry tree. A frequent visitor of Varieté theatres, Tappert repeatedly painted scenes of Berlin nightlife.
Works by Tappert’s friends including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, and Max Pechstein are shown alongside Geisha-Revue. Rarely seen together, these artworks provide a unique opportunity to discover Georg Tappert and to explore our collection of Expressionist paintings, drawings, and prints.
Georg Tappert, Geisha-Revue, 1911/13, Oil on canvas. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund. © 2021 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild- Kunst, Bonn
Sustaining support for the Wadsworth Atheneum provided by Newman’s Own Foundation and the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign with support from the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts.
