Otto Dix: A Portrait of Essay

). Indeed, when Dix exhibited Der Krieg in Berlin in 1924, he was criticized by the right wing press and eventually when Hitler came into power in 1933, Dix was fired based upon pressure from Hitler's government that contended that his paintings were antimilitary. According to Dix's dismissal letter from the Dresden Academy, his artwork "threatened to sap the will of the German people to defend themselves." To add insult to injury, Hitler's assault upon Dix did not end there. The Nazis also destroyed several of his paintings not long after he was dismissed from the Academy (Id.). Dix, however, did not let this injustice destroy his creative spirit. In 1933, he used oil and tempura on wood to paint The Seven Deadly Sins, an allegorical painting that represented Germany's political situation under Hitler. In this painting, Dix utilized the figure of the lazy Sloth because Dix blamed the German people's lack of alarm and concern regarding the Nazi regime as the main reason for the Nazi's ability to rise to power. Of particular note is that Dix realized the danger of expressing himself openly in his art; and, as a result, he did not paint the moustache on the representation of Hitler until after World War II ("The Seven Deadly Sins - Otto Dix - 1933").

World War II

Following being fired by the Dresden Academy, Otto Dix was not done with being persecuted by the Nazi's. In fact, in 1939, he was arrested on a fallacious charge of being involved in some kind of a plot against Hitler. While he was eventually released and the charges dropped, he was then conscripted into the German army. During the war, he was captured by French troops and eventually released in February of 1946 ("Otto Dix" Britannica).

Conclusion: Life After the War and His Memory

Fortunately for Dix, matters began to look up following World War II. No longer labeled a degenerate by the government of Germany, Dix was free to practice his art and he exhibited widely. Beginning in 1928, he started devoting most of his time to lithography and during this time his style softened and the content of his work became more mystical, spiritual, and even religious in orientation as demonstrated through Saul and David (1945) and Crucifixion (1946). Moreover, he was able to return to teaching and during his later years, Dix served in a variety of well-respected teaching positions ("Otto Dix" Encyclopedia.com). Dix's life came to a close on July 25, 1969, when he died of a stroke. However, to this day, he is revered not only in his home country but all around the world for the reality within his art as well as the bravery that he exhibited in creating and depicting images which many would simply rather forget.

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