Art by women: The Intimacy of Lotte Laserstein

Female artists are not just underrepresented in museums; they also face greater challenges in the art market compared to their male counterparts, even today. Let's be honest—when asked to name a great piece of art, most of us immediately think of works by male artists.
Yet, there have been, and still are, many remarkable female artists (like Artemisia Gentileschi, for example). That's why I found it difficult to choose just one artwork—or even one artist—when I read Sandra Stop’s blog parade theme: Art by Women: My Favourite Piece.

A blog parade is always a delightful thing. Not only does it inspire you to write about topics you might not have considered otherwise, but it also brings together different voices, offering a variety of perspectives on the same subject. That's why I always look forward to Judith Peters kicking off the blog parade season with her Content Society each year.

Fairly quickly, however, Lotte Laserstein came to mind. I first encountered her work two or three years ago. You usually only get to see her paintings in retrospectives, as most of her work is held in private collections (with a few exceptions in Berlin, Frankfurt/Main, and various Swedish museums). Lotte Laserstein's paintings captivate me with their subtly intense style. In the end, I chose her nude painting "In My Studio."

Like many women before—and some after—her, Lotte Laserstein faced significant obstacles in her path to becoming an artist. Despite this, she achieved remarkable success. The press once wrote: "Lotte Laserstein—this is a name to remember. The artist is among the very best of the younger generation of painters. Her brilliant rise will be one to watch."

That was in 1929. Just four years later, in 1933, after the Nazis came to power, Lotte Laserstein was banned from exhibiting her work due to her Jewish heritage. Her art was denounced as "degenerate," and when she was expelled from the professional association in 1935, she lost access to art supplies and was forced to close her studio.

An invitation to exhibit in Stockholm provided her with a chance to escape. She sent a large portion of her paintings ahead and followed them in December 1937. Lotte Laserstein never returned to Germany.

"In my Studio" by Lotte Laserstein

The painting "In My Studio," created in 1928 using oil on wood in the alla prima technique, depicts the artist at work. Lotte Laserstein is shown painting a nude portrait of her close friend and favourite model, Traute Rose.

In the background, through the window, you can glimpse a snowy Berlin-Wilmersdorf. The atmosphere is calm, almost a bit melancholic. As a representative of the New Objectivity movement, Lotte Laserstein employed a restrained colour palette, which further enhances the mood of the painting.

In the foreground, Traute Rose lies relaxed and confident on a bed, occupying most of the canvas, which measures a modest 46 × 73 cm. Between the foreground and the background, the artist herself is positioned, bridging the two spaces.

The Female Gaze

It’s not just the undeniable technical mastery that moves me, but the subtle emotional depth of the piece.

The nude is both sensitive and compelling. Traute's pose evokes famous nudes, such as Titian's Venus. This reference to great masterpieces is a technique that Laserstein frequently employs in her works, showcasing her deep knowledge of art history. However, unlike many male depictions of the nude, Lotte Laserstein does not turn her model into an object. Traute is not portrayed in an unguarded moment. As viewers, we are not made into voyeurs or gawkers.

The subject is fully aware of herself, and the relationship between the artist and the model feels equal. The female body is presented as something natural and unassuming—not as an object of desire. It is naked, but not exposed.

The entire painting exudes intimacy and a familiarity between the artist and her model that doesn’t need to be overtly emphasized.

What is New Objectivity?

The New Objectivity was an art movement that emerged in Germany in the 1920s. It developed as a reaction against Expressionism, which was perceived as overly emotional and subjective.

New Objectivity aimed for a precise and objective representation of reality. The artists of this movement sought to depict the world as it truly was, without idealizing or romanticizing it. Life in the Weimar Republic, with all its social issues, was portrayed directly and often unflinchingly.

Many works of New Objectivity engaged critically with the social and political conditions of their time. Themes of poverty, war, social injustice, and the corruption of the ruling class were commonly explored. One of the most renowned figures of the movement was Otto Dix, known for his incisive and often grim portrayals of life after World War I.

While Lotte Laserstein's paintings also belong to the New Objectivity, they are neither socially critical nor detached. Far from being cold or clinical, her work explores the theme of the "New Woman"—athletic and androgynous, fashionable, independent, and emancipated. In this way, Lotte Laserstein captured the spirit of her era.

The lost generation

Although Lotte Laserstein was able to resume her work in Sweden after a few years, she was never able to recapture the success she had enjoyed earlier in her career and largely disappeared from the public eye. She once remarked, "My flight to Sweden shattered my life into two parts."

This places her among the so-called "Lost Generation," a group of artists active in Germany between the two World Wars who were largely forgotten due to the political upheavals and the impact of World War II. This generation of artists experienced their creative peak in the 1920s and early 1930s, but were later marginalized, persecuted, or forced into exile following the Nazi rise to power and the subsequent repressions.

While some male artists of the Lost Generation were rediscovered in the post-war period, particularly from the 1960s and 1970s onwards, when there was renewed interest in modernism and the intersections between art and politics, many had already passed away or their works had been significantly reduced, making comprehensive rediscovery difficult.

The rediscovery of female artists occurred much later than that of their male counterparts, often only beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, driven by the women's movement and the growing interest in gender studies. This delayed recognition meant that many female artists had almost completely disappeared from art history, and the recovery of their work often remained fragmentary.

Lotte Laserstein’s rediscovery was actually due to a stroke of luck. In 1987, Agnew’s and The Belgrave Gallery in London planned an exhibition on the life’s work of Erich Wolfsfeld, Lotte Laserstein’s former teacher in Berlin. The exhibition’s curator, Caroline Stroude, wanted to speak with his former star pupil and visited her in Sweden. There, she saw Laserstein’s own works on the walls and was immediately captivated. On the spot, she promised the artist her own exhibition. Laserstein attended the opening of this exhibition in the same year, accompanied by her dear friend Traute Rose.

This event paved the way for her reemergence. In the early 2000s, the first German retrospectives of Lotte Laserstein’s work were held in Berlin. The artist, however, did not live to see this renewed recognition. Lotte Laserstein passed away in 1993 at the age of 94.

A look beneath the surface

Lotte Laserstein's "In My Studio" resonates with me on a profound emotional level because it captures not only the physical beauty of the female form but also a quiet connection and mutual trust between the artist and her model.
The intimacy and almost palpable tranquillity that the painting exudes often lead viewers to speculate about the nature of the relationship between the two women. Perhaps this is why rumours of a lesbian relationship between the artist and her model have persisted, even though there is no evidence to support these claims beyond the rumours themselves.

Is there a particular artwork by a female artist that has deeply moved you? What makes that work unique for you?