Untitled from series “The Architecture of the Orgies Mysteries Theater”
- Artist
- Hermann Nitsch, Austrian, 1938–2022
- Printer
- D .P. Druck- und Publikations GmbH, Munich, Germany
- Date
- 1987
- printed in
- Munich, Bavaria state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Prints
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image (irregular): 42 1/8 x 31 5/8 in. (107 x 80.3 cm)
sheet: 47 13/16 x 31 5/8 in. (121.5 x 80.3 cm)
framed: 54 1/8 x 37 5/8 x 1 7/8 in. (137.5 x 95.6 x 4.7 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Betsy Millard, the Earl and Betsy Millard Collection
- Rights
- © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VBK, Vienna
- Object Number
- 75:2003
NOTES
The Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch is best known for his Orgies Mysteries Theater, elaborately staged performances inspired by sacrificial religious rituals. This hand-colored lithograph, depicting Christ after his descent from the cross, mirrors the central figures in Rogier van der Weyden's Entombment from around 1450 (Uffizi, Florence). Nitsch made the work as a blueprint for an underground complex which, according to Nitsch, would feature tunnels and chambers based on the inner workings of the human body. The drawing depicts not only an unsettling image of the dead Christ but also Nitsch's ambitious plan for an architectural fantasy based on human anatomy.
Provenance
- early 1990s
David Nolan Gallery, New York, NY, USA
early 1990s - 2007
Earl Millard (d.1996) and Betsy Millard, St. Louis, MO, purchased from David Nolan Gallery
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, partial and promised gift of Betsy Millard, full ownership transferred in 2007
Notes:
The primary source of provenance is Betsy Millard [information for appraisals form, SLAM document files]. Other supporting documents are noted.
[1] In an e-mail dated October 25, 2006 from David Nolan to Museum researcher Sydney Norton, Mr. Nolan states that he acquired this work along with two other Nitsch works (76:2003 and 77:2003) sometime after his 1988 gallery exhibition "Hermann Nitsch Works on Paper" [SLAM document files].
[2] Betsy Millard indicated on the "Information for Appraisals" form completed in May 2004 that she purchased this piece from David Nolan Gallery [SLAM document files]. There is no invoice on file for this particular work. However, invoices do exist for 76:2003 and 77:2003, which were purchased in 1991 and 1994 respectively. It is likely that Mr. and Mrs. Millard acquired this work sometime within this time span [SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 3, 2003 and Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, Febuary 15, 2007.
David Nolan Gallery, New York, NY, USA
early 1990s - 2007
Earl Millard (d.1996) and Betsy Millard, St. Louis, MO, purchased from David Nolan Gallery
2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, partial and promised gift of Betsy Millard, full ownership transferred in 2007
Notes:
The primary source of provenance is Betsy Millard [information for appraisals form, SLAM document files]. Other supporting documents are noted.
[1] In an e-mail dated October 25, 2006 from David Nolan to Museum researcher Sydney Norton, Mr. Nolan states that he acquired this work along with two other Nitsch works (76:2003 and 77:2003) sometime after his 1988 gallery exhibition "Hermann Nitsch Works on Paper" [SLAM document files].
[2] Betsy Millard indicated on the "Information for Appraisals" form completed in May 2004 that she purchased this piece from David Nolan Gallery [SLAM document files]. There is no invoice on file for this particular work. However, invoices do exist for 76:2003 and 77:2003, which were purchased in 1991 and 1994 respectively. It is likely that Mr. and Mrs. Millard acquired this work sometime within this time span [SLAM document files].
[3] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 3, 2003 and Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, Febuary 15, 2007.