Object Details
- Artist
- Max Reyher, born Berlin, Germany 1862-died Belmar, NJ 1945
- Luce Center Label
- In Buddhist and Hindu traditions, Nirvana is the ultimate liberation, a state of existence free from all suffering or desire. This painting, however, suggests that the artist did not think his own end would be quite so peaceful. The hovering vulture, falling figure, and melting sun painted in somber colors express the sense of desperation that the German poet Ernst Eckstein described in a poem: "And lonely sounds in the endless space/ The Song of everlasting dead" (Sidney Janis, They Taught Themselves, 1942).
- Luce Object Quote
- "The Nirwana picture is freedom from all condition of existence. Nirwana is the shore of salvation for those who are in danger of being drowned in life's confusion." Max Reyher, quoted in Sidney Janis, They Taught Themselves, 1942
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- 1928
- Object number
- 1986.65.136
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Painting
- Folk Art
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 15 5/8 x 19 3/4 in. (39.7 x 50.2 cm)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- On View
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 22B
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Animal\bird
- Landscape\imaginary
- Allegory\religion\salvation
- Literature\Eckstein\Nirwana
- Record ID
- saam_1986.65.136
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7a7612356-b017-4f15-89c8-7877f5b701df
