This painting is “Portrait of a German Officer” by Marsden Hartley.
It’s a wonderful example of his blending of two styles – Cubism and German Expressionism.
In 1912, Hartley went to Paris to study art where he was exposed to those two styles.
He internalized them and created his own style.
In 1913, Hartley moved to Berlin, which he adored.
Berlin was vibrant, modern, and epitomized industrial progress.
It was a city in motion – people, cars, lights – and yet, orderly.
Almost daily he saw a military parade.
These parades were a symbol of German military strength.
The soldiers were dressed in full military uniforms,
which were highly decorative and attractive.
The energy of the soldiers was strong, confident, eye catching,
and exceedingly masculine, which Harley found appealing.
Berlin at that time had a thriving gay culture, as it was open-minded.
Hartley was gay and he felt he fit in with the city.
He produced this piece while living in Berlin in 1914, at the outbreak of WWI.
This painting has a military theme and incorporates a variety of symbols.
Let’s take a look at the military uniform symbols.
Here is the Iron Cross, awarded to soldiers for exceptional bravery.
Other uniform symbols include the epaulet and tassels.
You see here the helmet, with the spike at the top, adorned with plumes.
And the spur represents the cavalry regiment of an army.
Each of these symbols is representative of a uniform.
The painting also includes symbols representing different flags.
For example -
The red, white, and black bars indicate the German imperial flag;
however, they are in reverse order.
The black and white flag at the top is the Prussian flag.
The light blue and white checks represent the Bavarian flag.
Toward the bottom we see two flags – those of England and Belgium,
countries Germany was at war with.
Upon viewing the painting, some wondered if Hartley
was a supporter of Germany, since the US and Germany were enemies in WWI.
For the viewers, the painting appears to glorify the German military.
Hartley responded that he was merely painting what he saw every day.
After Hartley’s death, it was discovered there was a deeper meaning to this piece.
This was an homage to a particular man. Hartley loved, Karl von Freyburg,
he was a lieutenant in the cavalry regiment during the war.
We can now see that the uniform symbols represent von Freyburg’s uniform.
Also, von Freyburg was from Bavaria, which is the reason that flag is featured.
I’d like to show you additional symbols referring to von Freyburg.
The letters KvF are the initials of his name.
You can see “E” and “4,” which are insignias representing his regiment.
Upon von Freyburg’s death, Hartley received his insignias and his Iron Cross.
Von Freyburg was awarded the Iron Cross the day before he died.
Hartley held on to those mementos for the rest of his life.
The number 24 represents von Freyburg’s age at his death.
Looking up at the top we see a black and white chessboard.
Von Freyburg loved playing chess, which he and Hartley played together.
The black background signifies mourning.
Upon von Freyburg’s death, Hartley was grief-stricken
and could not paint for some time.
When he resumed, he embarked on a war series, similar to this one,
but with slight differences.
This was his way of working through his grieving process.
After Hartley’s death, those who were close to the two of them explained
the deeper meaning to this painting.
Later, Hartley’s personal writings were found, where he expressed
his love for von Freyburg and information on his war series.
In conclusion, while this painting
contains military symbols that Hartley saw during his time in Berlin,
it also honors the man he loved and lost.