Meret Oppenheim

The Suffering of Genevieve

1939

Due to her Jewish surname and the discrimination that came with it in Germany, Meret Oppenheim’s family initially settled in Basel in the 1930s. From this time onwards, Oppenheim used legends, mythological stories and fairy tales with their supernatural elements, such as fabulous creatures, as a starting point for her own fantastical pictorial inventions. During this phase of her work, Oppenheim became dissatisfied with her art and destroyed many of her works. Among the surviving works is ‘Das Leiden der Genoveva’, which depicts a floating woman with a vacant stare and no arms, symbolically expressing Oppenheim’s own sense of powerlessness. Over the years, Oppenheim would repeatedly return to the figure of Genoveva and subject it to reinterpretation. Translation generated using AI

oil on textile support [linen/hemp]; original frame, painted and gilded wood

49,4 × 71,5 cm (Image)

Kunstmuseum Bern, Legat Meret Oppenheim