Showing posts with label adolf hitler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adolf hitler. Show all posts

Sunday, December 4, 2011

He's Ba-ack! Hitler Reappears in Graffiti Art

Adolf Hitler was the failed leader of the German Nazi Political Party during World War 2. During the war, Hitler's forces killed millions of civilians including gypsies, homosexuals and Jews. After finally being defeated in 1945, Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide.



A Dubious Legacy

Hitler is remembered for the atrocities committed by the Nazi Party while it was under his reign. With his slick lock of black hair, piercing eyes and tiny mustache, Hitler is a recognizable figure. Though it has been more than half a century since his death, images of Hitler still appear in modern art, as he has become an easily recognizable symbol for evil.

Above: Graffiti dating back to WWII. This cartoon rendition of Adolf Hitler was found in a barn in East Yorkshire, England. During the war, the barn was used to house troops and it is thought that the painting was created by a soldier.

Above: A stencil graffiti piece depicting a young Adolf Hitler, found in Mexico. The dense black shadows used in this piece adds to the idea of evil that is attached to Adolf Hitler.

Above: A large street art sticker in Berlin, Germany, shows a desperate Hitler with a full bladder. The swastika emblem has been replaced with another symbol on his armband. Quite a number of these Hitler graffiti stickers have appeared in the area.

Above: An Italian stencil graffiti piece which shows Hitler shooting himself, surrounded by the words, "Facists and Nazis Follow Your Leader."

Above: This graffiti stencil in Bergen, Norway, shows Hitler as a waiter. A similar stencil was created by internationally renowned graffiti artist, Banksy, but the creator of the above piece is unknown.

Above: Banksy's graffiti artwork of Hitler as a waiter.

Above: This piece of Hitler Graffiti in Cardiff, England, combines an image of Adolf Hitler with the logo and slogan of the international fast food chain, Mcdonalds. 

Above: "It takes drastic measures" - a stenciled urban art piece found in Spain. Hitler is shown performing the Nazi Party salute, while a pair of unmanned scissors aims to cut off his hand and therefore disable Hitler.

Above: A Mexican artist's sense of humor finds its way into this stencil graffiti artwork. Hitler's hairstyle, with its side parting and long fringe, is reminiscent of the popular emo style that is being worn today.

Above: Is there any relation between the baby's black skin and Hitler views on Eugenics (race cleansing)?

Above: Quite a number of street artists have made connections between George W Bush and Adolf Hitler. In the above graffiti image, Bush doesn't have the trademark Hitler mustache, but two swastikas adorn the picture to insinuate that Bush's actions while president were similar to those of Adolf Hitler during his reign in Europe.

Above: It's not entirely clear if the artist wanted to create a comparison between Bush and Hitler or Bush and Charlie Chaplin, an actor during WWII who had a similar mustache. The piece is slightly whimsical, even pitiful. If it is meant to portray Bush as Hitler, the personality of the piece sets it apart from others in its category as it doesn't exhibit the same 'evil' factor as other Hitler graffiti works.

Above: An enormous graffiti sticker in the Netherlands shows a combination of Hitler and George Bush. Swastikas replace the stars on the American flag. More George Bush Graffiti Art


Above: Another Bush / Hitler hybrid image, similar to the one shown above. Bush Hitler is shown wearing a baseball cap with the Nazi SS logo emblazoned on it. The fearbush.com website is no longer available online.


Above: This train (unknown location) has been painted red and decorated with a swastika and the words, "Hitler Youth". The Nazi Youth Party Played a chilling role in the Second World War as children and teenagers were manipulated by mass propaganda to perform acts of violence.

This mid-20th Century Fuhrer and his actions have been memorialized in a number of different ways. Outside the building in Austria where Hitler was born is a stone engraved with the words, "For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again Fascism. Millions of dead remind us." Many books, movies and artworks have been created around Hitler's memory, and it seems that his image will continue to serve as a symbol of war and hate.

Monday, November 29, 2010

10 Paintings by Adolf Hitler

Hitler is known for being one of the most evil and murderous men in Jewish history. Yet few people know that he also produced a large amount of paintings, focusing on flowers, landscapes and cathedrals.


Adolf Hitler, Dictator of the Holocaust

Adolf Hitler, failed dictator of Germany during World War II, produced a variety of oil and watercolor paintings. In addition to being responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people, including the genocide of six million Jews, Hitler was an artist who used cathedrals and flowers as subject matter for many of his paintings.


Above: “Dianthus” by Adolf Hitler. This painting is surprising to many, as the effeminate, gentle subject matter stands in stark contrast to the dictator responsible for the holocaust. 

Above: “Roses” Although Hitler was not an exceptional artist, his paintings still have an aesthetic appeal.


Adolf Hitler's Failed Art Career

Before becoming involved in politics, Hitler applied several times to The Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, hoping to further his artistic career. He was turned down each time, and was forced to live on the streets, selling paintings to tourists and exchanging them in restaurants for meals.

Above: “Cathedral in Vienna” In many of Hitler's paintings there exists a level of detail that can only be achieved through careful planning and painstaking execution.

Above: “Mother Mary with the Holy Child Jesus Christ” 
Hitler’s painting of Mary and child has caused a lot of stir amongst Christians. Hitler himself was a Christian, yet he was the creator of much misery and despair during the Second World War. He has been held responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews, gypsies and people from other social sects that Hitler didn’t deem worthy of being included in his future Germany.

Above: Many of Adolf Hitler's paintings portray the scenery that he encountered during his travels around Europe.

Above: Note only are these painting unique because of the notoriety of their creator, they also give us a view into the past, showing us buildings and fashions from Hitler's time.

Above: Hitler produced many paintings depicting the areas that he visited. However, he produced a large amount of postcard sized paintings of cathedrals and churches that were popular with tourists.

Above: Adolf Hitler was known to have a varying style and preference in medium, which makes verification of his paintings even more difficult. In fact, it is said that many of Hitler’s paintings that have previously sold for thousands of British pounds may in fact be fakes.

Above: Note the difference in styles from one painting to the next. It is possible that this painting, or any one of the others, is a fake, as Hitler didn't have a distinctive, recognizable style.

Above: The tranquility and peacefulness portrayed in Hitler’s paintings belie the atrocities he committed during WWII. One can only wonder how a man who was responsible for so many deaths could paint gentle, colorful paintings of flowers, churches and landscapes.


Fake Hitler Paintings

The authenticity of Hitler’s paintings is often hard to prove, as he seldom mentioned the paintings by name or description in his correspondence and diaries. His friend, Reinhold Hanisch, sold fake Hitler paintings during the fuehrer’s reign over Germany, an act that Hitler did not approve of. During Hitler’s youth, Hanisch pushed him to create a painting per day, a grueling pace which otherwise managed to feed them each evening. 
Adolf Hitler's signature appears to have changed as he matured, and so it is possible that some painting that are believed to be the work of Adolf Hitler, were actually forgeries or fakes.


Above: This is Hitler's signature, as found on a verified sketch by Adolf Hitler.


Above: The signature that Adolf Hitler used on official documents is very different from signatures found on his paintings.


Above: Example of a possible fake Hitler signature


Read More on Art-Sci:
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