Sylvia von Harden
Encyclopedia
Sylvia von Harden also called Sylvia von Halle, was a German
journalist
and poet
. During her career as a journalist, she wrote for many newspapers in Germany and England
. She is perhaps best known as the subject of a painting by Otto Dix
.
Born Sylvia Lehr in Hamburg
, von Harden (she chose the name as an aristocratic pseudonym
) wrote a literary column for the monthly Das junge Deutschland from 1918 to 1920, and wrote for Die Rote Erde from 1919 to 1923. From 1915 to 1923, she lived with the writer Ferdinand Hartkopf, with whom she had a son. During the 1920s she lived in Berlin, and published two volumes of poetry in 1920 and 1927.
She was famously portrayed in Otto Dix
's painting entitled Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden (1926). An ambivalent image of the New Woman
, it depicts von Harden with bobbed hair
and monocle
, seated at a cafe table with a cigarette in her hand and a cocktail
in front of her. This painting is recreated in an opening scene of the film Cabaret
.
In 1959, von Harden wrote an article, "Erinnerungen an Otto Dix" ("Memories of Otto Dix"), in which she described the genesis of the portrait. Dix had met her on the street, and declared:
The painting, an important example of the New Objectivity
movement, is now in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou
, Paris
.
In 1933, von Harden left Germany for self-exile in England, where she continued to write but with less success. In an article she wrote for the refugee newspaper Die Zeitung
in April 1943, she described "her shift work in a factory and, in the exalted tones that were common in wartime publications of the sort, claimed to have been made to feel part of the family there".
She died in Croxley Green
, England in 1963.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. During her career as a journalist, she wrote for many newspapers in Germany and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She is perhaps best known as the subject of a painting by Otto Dix
Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit.-Early life and...
.
Born Sylvia Lehr in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, von Harden (she chose the name as an aristocratic pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
) wrote a literary column for the monthly Das junge Deutschland from 1918 to 1920, and wrote for Die Rote Erde from 1919 to 1923. From 1915 to 1923, she lived with the writer Ferdinand Hartkopf, with whom she had a son. During the 1920s she lived in Berlin, and published two volumes of poetry in 1920 and 1927.
She was famously portrayed in Otto Dix
Otto Dix
Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Weimar society and the brutality of war. Along with George Grosz, he is widely considered one of the most important artists of the Neue Sachlichkeit.-Early life and...
's painting entitled Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden (1926). An ambivalent image of the New Woman
New Woman
The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century. The New Woman pushed the limits set by male-dominated society, especially as modeled in the plays of Norwegian Henrik Ibsen . "The New Woman sprang fully armed from Ibsen's brain," according to a joke by Max Beerbohm...
, it depicts von Harden with bobbed hair
Bob cut
A "bob cut" is a short haircut for women in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-level, often with a fringe at the front.-The beginning:...
and monocle
Monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the vision in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string. The other end of the string is then connected to the wearer's clothing to avoid losing...
, seated at a cafe table with a cigarette in her hand and a cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
in front of her. This painting is recreated in an opening scene of the film Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
.
In 1959, von Harden wrote an article, "Erinnerungen an Otto Dix" ("Memories of Otto Dix"), in which she described the genesis of the portrait. Dix had met her on the street, and declared:
'I must paint you! I simply must! ... You are representative of an entire epoch!'
'So, you want to paint my lacklustre eyes, my ornate ears, my long nose, my thin lips; you want to paint my long hands, my short legs, my big feet—things which can only scare people off and delight no-one?'
'You have brilliantly characterized yourself, and all that will lead to a portrait representative of an epoch concerned not with the outward beauty of a woman but rather with her psychological condition.'
The painting, an important example of the New Objectivity
New Objectivity
The New Objectivity is a term used to characterize the attitude of public life in Weimar Germany as well as the art, literature, music, and architecture created to adapt to it...
movement, is now in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In 1933, von Harden left Germany for self-exile in England, where she continued to write but with less success. In an article she wrote for the refugee newspaper Die Zeitung
Die Zeitung
Die Zeitung was a German language newspaper in London published during World War II. It had an average circulation of 15.000 to 20.000 from March 1941 to June 1945 and was mainly read by Germans in exile...
in April 1943, she described "her shift work in a factory and, in the exalted tones that were common in wartime publications of the sort, claimed to have been made to feel part of the family there".
She died in Croxley Green
Croxley Green
Croxley Green is a small town and civil parish of approximately 5,000 dwellings and 12,000 residents located between Watford and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England...
, England in 1963.
Works
- (with Leo Scherpenbach): Die Bücherkiste: Monatsschrift für Literatur, Graphik und Buchbesprechung. Munich: Bachmair 1919-1921 (Reprinted: Nendeln/Liechtenstein: Kraus 1977)
- Verworrene Städte (1920)
- Robespierre: Eine Novelle. (ca. 1924)
- Die italienische Gondel: Gedichte (1927)
- Das Leuchtturmmädchen von Longstone. 1958 (Jugendbuchreihe Silberstern Nr. 74)