Graphic Art in Weimar Berlin: The Case of Jeanne Mammen
This dissertation is on my reading list:
GRAPHIC ART IN WEIMAR BERLIN:THE CASE OF JEANNE MAMMEN
by Suzanne Nicole Royal
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, USA
Published: 2007
You can view the text online or download it as a pdf.
Suzanne Nicole Royal writes about her dissertation: “My dissertation examines the myths and realities of the New Woman in Weimar Germany (1918-1933) using the artwork of Jeanne Mammen (1890-1976) as a case study. Mammen’s work, like that of other, numerous female Weimar era artists, has been all but forgotten. (…) Women in general and female artists in particular are frequently marginalized for not being modern enough, to paraphrase the title of a recent study by Marsha Meskimmon. Their art making has come to be regarded either as a hobby or as mere illustration, a category which falls under the rubric of craft rather than the fine arts.However, by examining the artistic production of the period more closely, one finds that women artists worked in a myriad of ways as successful, producing artists.; My dissertation historically situates the neue Frau by examining her against such popular Weimar subjects as rationalization, the new visibility of women, the women’s movement, as well as the figure of the prostitute. Within these contexts, I examine Mammen’s fine art production, her work for the popular press, and her book commissions. (…)”
The dissertation is illustrated by artworks of Jeanne Mammen. German artist Jeanne Mammen (1890-1976) is renown for her graphics, including nude and semi-nude female figures made for gay and lesbian periodicals in 1920s and 1930s.