Fallen Figure (Fallen Fighter), 1971

Dimensions: 305.0 x 247.5 cm

Physical Description: Acrylic on linen

Inventory Number: 2339

Acquisition: Acquired in 2011 with funds from the Städelkomitee 21. Jahrhundert, property of Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.

Status: On display, lower level, Contemporary Art, room 16

Texts

About the Work

The stronger of the two fighters brutally attacks his opponent, who has already collapsed to the floor. The flesh of each is an open wound, smeared with blood, as though torn to shreds in the course of a bitter struggle. Leon Golub painted the larger-than-life figures on canvas, which now hangs limp and slightly wavy, as though it were itself skin torn from a body. With poses borrowed from the pictorial vocabulary of antiquity, the protagonists are archetypes of genuine masculine excesses of power and violence. Golub’s paintings oscillate subtly between fascination and revulsion.

Audio & Video

Basic information

01:16
Focus on art history

01:09
Focus on material

01:20

KunstIStück – Leon Golub: Fallen Figure (Fallen Fighter)

Sammlungshighlights des Städel Museums in unterhaltsamen und informativen Filmen – das sind die Kunst|Stücke. Entdecken Sie spannende Details zu Kunstwerken aus ungewöhnlichen Blickwinkeln in unter zwei Minuten. KunstIStück – Leon Golub: Fallen Figure (Fallen Fighter), 1971, Städel Museum Frankfurt am Main https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/fallen-figure-fallen-fighter#yt