1943, Karl Hofer, The Blind Man and the Girl -- Stadel Museum (Frankfurt)
From the museum label: In 1943 Karl Hofer's Berlin studio was destroyed during a bomb raid. The painter, whom the National Socialists had banned from his occupation in 1937, had to look on as over one thousand of his paintings perished in the flames. This key work was created shortly afterwards. Hofer presents himself as a blind man in front of the debris of the destroyed city. The artist thus underlines his loss and helplessness, but at the same time includes a glimmer of hope: he finds refuge in the figure of a young woman who optimistically gazes ahead. In the same year, Hofer painted two more versions of the same motif.
1943, Karl Hofer, The Blind Man and the Girl -- Stadel Museum (Frankfurt)
From the museum label: In 1943 Karl Hofer's Berlin studio was destroyed during a bomb raid. The painter, whom the National Socialists had banned from his occupation in 1937, had to look on as over one thousand of his paintings perished in the flames. This key work was created shortly afterwards. Hofer presents himself as a blind man in front of the debris of the destroyed city. The artist thus underlines his loss and helplessness, but at the same time includes a glimmer of hope: he finds refuge in the figure of a young woman who optimistically gazes ahead. In the same year, Hofer painted two more versions of the same motif.