With his sensitive and time-transcending compositions, Romanian artist Victor Man is one of the most sought-after painters of the present—and one of the most extraordinary. In the midst of the Old Masters Collection, the Städel Museum is presenting an exhibition of works from the past ten years dedicated to his artistic focus: portraits.
Your Visit
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- Entry €16 regular, from €14 reduced
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- Schaumainkai 63, 60596 Frankfurt am Main
About the Exhibition
At the Städel Museum, a fascinating dialogue between history and the present emerges. Subtle influences of the pre-Renaissance, dense with metaphors, emerge in his melancholic imagery. In deep dark green, blue, and black, the artist creates portraits as intimate as they are enigmatic. Stylistically complex and difficult to categorize: Man’s work reveals numerous art historical references while at the same time representing a unique position in contemporary painting.
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![St presse man untitled 2013]( "St presse man untitled 2013")
Victor Man (*1974)
Untitled, 2013 -
![St presse man the chandler 2013]( "St presse man the chandler 2013")
Victor Man (*1974)
The Chandler, 2013 -
![St presse man untitledconnaissez vous des esseintes 2015]( "St presse man untitledconnaissez vous des esseintes 2015")
Victor Man (*1974)
Untitled (Connaissez-vous des Esseintes?), 2015
The title of the exhibition, “The Lines of Life”, is a quote from Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem “To Zimmer” (1812) and refers to Victor Man’s close connection to poetry and literature. These references, as well as connections to his own life reality, are repeatedly found in his painting—for example, the individuals depicted in the portraits in the main part of the exhibition come from his family environment and circle of friends. Immersed in predominantly dark scenarios and with a contemplative gaze, the sitters are enveloped in existential heaviness. The paintings bear witness to an intense exploration of human existence and speak of the poetic as well as tragic ambivalence of life.
In the second part of the exhibition, the genre of portraiture is continued and at the same time deconstructed with the series “The Chandler” (since 2013). Victor Man presents the same motif in various paintings, always in a slightly different form—a seated figure with a head on its lap—and invites us to explore our own perception. The Städel Museum brings together all the works from this series, which has rarely been seen in its entirety—including the latest work, which has never been shown before.
Curator
Svenja Grosser (Deputy Head of the Collection of Contemporary Art, Städel Museum)
Project Coordinator
Maja Lisewski (Assistant curator, Collection of Contemporary Art, Städel Museum)
Man’s oeuvre is committed to painting. Surrounded by the collection, which spans 700 years, his paintings open a dialogue anchored in the richness of art history. The quiet and timeless portraits appear as an antithesis to our highly technological and complex living environment.
Victor Man (*1974)
The Chandler with Gauguin’s Evil Spirit, 2014
Victor Man (*1974)
Self with Father, 2017
Victor Man (*1974)
Untitled, 2013
Victor Man (*1974)
Self as the Man of Sorrows, 2021
Victor Man (*1974)
Untitled (Connaissez-vous des Esseintes?), 2015
Victor Man (*1974)
The Chandler, 2013
Victor Man (*1974)
Untitled (From Wounds and Starry Dreams), 2022
About Victor Man
Victor Man (*1974) lives and works in Rome and his native city of Cluj (Romania). He represented Romania at the 52nd Venice Biennial in 2007. In 2014, he received the “Artist of the Year” award from Deutsche Bank. His works have been shown in institutional solo exhibitions at the KunstHalle in Berlin, the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Haus der Kunst in Munich, and most recently at the Museo Tamayo, Mexico City. His works are part of numerous international collections, including those of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Contemporary Art Collection of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Tate Modern in London, and the Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main. Furthermore, his works can be found in important international private collections.
Victor Man’s work is timeless, and his paintings thus resist art-historical classification according to criteria such as style, date of execution, or even the period to which they belong. Multi-layered references from art history and literature also open up a wide range of possible interpretations.
Sponsors & Patrons
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