Hannah Höch

Known for her significant contributions to the Dada movement and her innovative use of photomontage, Hannah Höch (1889–1978) was a pioneering German artist whose work explored Weimar-era perceptions of gender and ethnic differences. Born Johanne Höch in Gotha, Germany, she studied at the School of Applied Arts in Berlin-Charlottenburg from 1912 to 1914. Her early exposure to the avant-garde art scene in Berlin profoundly influenced her artistic development.

Drawing inspiration from the collage work of Pablo Picasso and fellow Dada artist Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch took fragments of photographs, newspapers, and magazines and created complex, layered compositions that challenged traditional artistic conventions. The technique, which was quickly embraced by their fellow Dada artists, transformed clichéd representations of daily life and contemporary culture into profoundly modern artworks, whose dynamic content challenged the status quo of German politics and society. Höch was at the very forefront of the evolution of the medium, and through the late teens and early 1920s she created a series of highly sophisticated, groundbreaking images that subverted and skewered the tropes of the mass-media from a distinctly feminine perspective.

Created in 1920, Das schöne Madchen illustrates the radical, provocative power of Hannah Höch’s early photomontages, which cemented her reputation as one of the most revolutionary female artists of the 20th century. Höch pioneered the technique of photomontage alongside Raoul Hausmann, who had first introduced her to Berlin’s artistic avant-garde during World War I. Through Hausmann, Höch became a central figure in the Berlin Dada Club, which included other avant-garde artists such as John Heartfield and Johannes Baader.

Höch also used art as an outlet to reflect upon her life. Frau und Saturn(1922) is an intimate autobiographical work by Hannah Höch, created during a period of intense personal turmoil and upheaval. Focusing on a trio of otherworldly, mystical figures, the painting may be seen as a personal refection on the tumultuous romance she shared with fellow Dada artist, Raoul Hausmann, which had ended the same year as the painting’s creation. The work was sold at Christie’s in 2017 for a world auction record for the artist of US$1,085,000.