Magnus Zeller
The Oratorcirca 1920

On view:

Broad Contemporary Art Museum, floor 3

Oil painting of a man in a mint-green suit with both arms raised, surrounded by a dense crowd of figures reaching toward him with outstretched hands

Artist or Maker: Magnus Zeller
Germany, 1888-1972
Title: The Orator
Place Made: Germany
Date Made: circa 1920
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 65 × 84 3/4 × 1 3/4 in. (165.1 × 215.27 × 4.45 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Charles K. Feldman
Accession Number: 86.4
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Modern Art
Curatorial Notes: Magnus Zeller was among the second generation of German Expressionist artists who came of age at the end of World War I. As Germany’s defeat in the war and the subsequent downfall of the monarchy brought on a nationwide revolution, those eager for dramatic political change were optimistic. Artists believed they would play an important role in building a better society and joined together in groups such as the Working Council for Art. Idealism gave way to disillusionment as the revolution grew violent and the new republican government failed to realize its lofty ambitions. In The Orator, Zeller portrays the religious dimension of modern politics, which incites ecstatic devotion in its followers. The charismatic speaker, more preacher than politician, may have been inspired by the Communist leader Karl Liebknecht, who Zeller saw in Berlin before Liebknecht’s murder by right-wing forces in 1919.

Wall label, 2021.
Provenance: The artist (1888-1972). Private collection ( possibly Mrs. Bachman’s Uncle, her mother’s older brother). Dr. and Mrs. Henry Bachman, Missouri; sold in 1986 toLACMA.
Selected Bibliography: Barron, Stephanie et al., German Expressionism 1915-1925: The Second Generation. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988.

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