Rainer, Arnulf

Cross Drypoint on paper Signed lower right, numbered lower left: 3/35 mount size unopened: 53 x 37,5 cm, sheet size: 50,5 x 65,5 cm framed This market-fresh exhibit is an extremely sought-after cross motif by Arnulf Rainers, from a small edition. It is particularly solved in several respects: the cross itself has a double structure: on the one hand an elongated cross, on the other hand a slightly abstracted cassock, which forms a strong, red background, which is virtually painted over with silver strokes. "The many crosses I have fabricated there lately do not come from a hopeful impetus, or even from Christian confession and missionary maturity, but from a permanent inner embarrassment, a spiritual need and drought. Emptiness, creative shame, lack of motivation dominate me. If melancholy lies like a thick dough in your neck, you sometimes find strength for all kinds of contortions and bends to shake yourself free. Most of it, however, came into being no differently than the gestures of an old woman who crosses herself again and again because she sees the great need coming." Arnulf Rainer 1984