The Maiden’s Hands – Is That a Power Pose?
The Maiden’s pose, looking down at a pile of bones, is ambiguous in Robert Budzinski’s 1924 wordless story, Totentanz. What is she doing with her hands? The full set of prints can be seen here.
at a pile of bones in the last image of Budzinski’s
1924 wordless narrative, Totentanz.
Katja Wehry, in the catalogue that accompanied the Robert Budzinski exhibition published by the Marburger Universitätsmuseum für bildende Kunst in 2004, on page 18, said,
Slightly bent over, she holds her breasts, as if in proof of life (translated from the German wording, “Leicht herabgebeugt hält sie ihre Busse, wie zum Beweis für das Leben”.)
In fairness, the above woodcut is a bit fuzzy and ambiguous. However in an informal survey, the majority thought her hands were on her hips. Some described it as a “power pose” in which an individual stands triumphantly over a defeated foe.
In a later (1944) line drawing below, the Maiden looks down on a pile of bones with a triumphant pose. Budzinski clearly drew the line drawing based on the 1924 woodcut.
exlibris, clearly copied from the 1924 woodcut
showing the Maiden triumphant over death.
This line drawing adapts the 1924 woodcut at the beginning of the post, but with significantly sharper details. She has a floral headpiece, not a hair braid. Her hands are on her hips in a classic “power pose”.
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