Max Klinger
Hochzeit

1880
intaglio and etching on paper
10 x 7 in.
1992.238
Gift of Dan '69 and Nancy Schneider

This scene is oddly familiar, but at the same time, completely indiscernible. Who is the dancer? And what culture, or era of human history, is this pulled from? Its German title, which literally translates to “high celebration,” is a vague indication of a party. Other than that, it’s up to the viewer to decide. Part of Hochzeit’s beauty comes from this uncertainty. This foreign bacchanal could have been inspired by any number of ancient cultures, muddying the lines between fact and fantasy. Christopher Hager ’16, English and Studio Art