Rudolf Belling, the triad and the boxer

The Boxer

Rudolf Belling, a Berliner artist

The sculptor Rudolf Belling, born in Berlin in 1886, is one of those artists whom the Nazis declared "degenerate" when they come to power. The term already existed before, to designate avant-garde art, which parted from the classical style considered authentically German.

What is special about Belling is that, while considered degenerate, one of his works was chosen for a Pure German art exhibition.

In 1918, with the revolutionary events taking place in Germany, Belling took part in the Workers' Councils for Art. He also participates in the foundation of the Novembergruppe, grouping progressive artists.

In 1931 he entered the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. But in 1933, with the coming to power of Hitler, he was considered degenerate and has to resign. In 1935, he emigrated to the United States and the Nazi regime forbade him to return home.

His sculpture Dreiklang (Triad), from 1924, is a ragged twist of interlocking prongs made from lustrous birchwood. Inescapably modern, it is a pioneering example of abstract sculpture, and was Belling’s first real success. Its split structure might symbolise the schools of painting, sculpture and architecture that Belling sought to unify.

In 1937 Dreiklang was one of the artworks exposed in Munich’s Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition. Conceived by Reich propagandist Joseph Goebbels and authorised by Adolf Hitler, the show took aim at modern work that was deemed “decadent” or “racially impure” by the National Socialist party – but Dreiklang’s presence underlined the confusion and complexity surrounding the Nazis’ cultural approach. At another place in Munich, at the same time, Belling’s more traditional sculpture of the German boxer Max Schmeling was shown in the state-sanctioned Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung (Great German Art Exhibition) in the House of German Art. When the authorities realised the coincidence, Belling’s “degenerate” pieces were quietly removed, but The Boxer was left.

The Abteiberg Museum in Mönchengladbach presents to the public several works by Rudolf Belling.

Triad