Die Maler - Otto Blümel

Printed

29 pages

Author(s)

Die Maler

Otto Blümel | 1912 | Munich, Germany
Characters
Kompowsky, Anzenmaier, Burger, Kasperl, Ein Kritiker, Unsichtbarer Chor und Stimmen
Number of acts
1
Note

The argument of this play is very similar to Franz von Pocci's play: Casperl als Porträtmaler. Otto Blümel also borrowed the title of his collection of puppet plays, Larifari, from the famous "Count of the puppet". Here, the subject is treated in a more satirical way, expressing the author's conservative criticism of the avant-garde mentioned in the play: the works of the painter Gombrowski are described as "futuristic" or "expressionist". The enthusiasm for Kasperl's painting makes a mockery of the entire art world (in which the character of the Jewish critic, a typical figure in the journalistic world of the early 20th century, is also recognisable). Two years before this play was written, Raymond Dorgelès (1885-1973) had a picture painted by a donkey in Paris in an attempt to mystify the audience at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants in Paris: Otto Blümel's play features a similar trickery.

Plot summary

An incompetent man makes a painting celebrated by critics and the public

The avant-garde painter Kompowski, annoyed by the critics who come to see him in his workshop, goes to the café. The drunken servant, Kasperl, takes advantage of his absence to paint a canvas with a very bad view of Munich. Gallery owners who had come to acquire the master's works bought his paintings from him for a thousand marks. The crowd comes to cheer the artist. But the critic Schaikeles eventually learns the identity of the real creator of the painting. Anzenmaier and Burger, the gallery owners, come to claim their money when Kompowski returns home, and the fight becomes widespread. Kasperl puts an end to this by smashing the paintings over the heads of the gallery owners and knocking Gombrowski out with his easel.

Related works
Casperl als Porträtmaler, Franz von Pocci1859
Der Klausner, Otto Blümel1910
Der Dichter, Otto Blümel1909
Composition date
1912

Publications and translations

Publication

Otto Blümel: Larifari, drei Kasperlspiele. München, Albert Lang, 1914

Modern edition

Otto Blümel: Larifari. München, Buchendorfer Verlag, 1996

Language
German
Literary tones
Satirical, Burlesque, Farcical
Animations techniques
Glove-puppet
Audience
Not specified

Key-words

Theatrical techniques

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Written by

Jean Boutan