Makbet [Macbeth]

Work on Paper

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Makbet [Macbeth]

Entry/Object ID

2012.96

Description

This work is a poster for a theatrical production of “Macbeth”. It depicts a man with a graying beard, wearing red castle-tower over his face, with only his mouth, right ear, and nose exposed. He looks to be wearing red lipstick and has an earring in the exposed ear.

Artwork Details

Medium

Photomechanical print

Subject

Macbeth

Subject Place

Country

Poland

Continent

Europe

Context

In 20th century Poland, posters were used to advertise all sorts of events such as plays, concerts, and exhibitions. Graphic design became an important part of the Polish art scene at the time because of the way it allowed for visual artistic expression, that could be consumed in everyday life. There were restrictions around artistic expression under the People’s Republic of Poland, so artists used lots of symbolism in their works, developing a style unique the medium of posters. Polish artists approached poster design with complexity and quality. Historically, these posters have value and rarity because they were not mass produced and there is a limited quantity. Under the communist government of the 20th century, the resources needed to make posters, like ink and paper were expensive and limited. Therefore, there are only as many copies of a poster as there were buildings where the event would be promoted.

Acquisition

Notes

Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Patricia Rosenberg

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Andrzej Pagowski

Role

Graphic Artist

Manufacturer

Ochota Theater

Date made

1981

Time Period

19th Century

Place

Country

Poland

Continent

Europe

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Country

Poland

Continent

Europe

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Location

R: TC

Transcription

"William Shakespeare/Makbet/Teatr Ochoty-Zamosc/1981"

Language

Polish

Translation

“William Shakespeare” “Macbeth” “Ochota-Zamosc Theater” “1981”

Type

Signature

Location

R: BR vertically

Transcription

"A. Pagowski"

Language

Polish

Lexicon

Getty AAT

Concept

theater (discipline), theater arts, performing arts (discipline), arts (broad discipline), humanities, disciplines (concept), posters, information artifacts, information forms (objects)

Hierarchy Name

Disciplines (hierarchy name), Information Forms (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name)

Facet

Activities Facet, Objects Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Theater posters, Posters

Legacy Lexicon

Class

WORKS ON PAPER

Dimensions

Dimension Description

overall

Width

26-1/2 in

Length

38-1/2 in