Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)

Executed in 1944, Liebenswertes Spiel was painted during a pivotal year in the ever turbulent life of the German born Dada artist, Kurt Schwitters. After fleeing Germany from the Gestapo in 1937, for his ‘degenerate art’, Schwitters settled in the safety of Norway where he continued to work, before being forced into exile once more in 1940 as the Nazi invasion spread across Europe. Heading west Schwitters took refuge in Leith, in Scotland, but seen as an enemy alien was imprisoned and transferred around various internment camps ending up in the infamous Hutchinson Camp on the Isle of Man. Continually painting and working throughout this difficult period
it was Schwitters’ innate desire for creativity that spurred him on to 1941, when he was finally released.

With a new found freedom, Schwitters left the Isle of Man and moved to London. He stayed there until the end of the war where he then made one final move to his home in the Lake District. It was during his time in London that Liebenswertes Spiel was painted. Up until now, the impoverished artist had been almost completely neglected by the art establishment in Britain, but in 1944 he was to have his first solo exhibition at The Modern Art Gallery. Although not an immediate financial success, the exhibition did serve in promoting Schwitters’ name and unique, innovative works into the British art scene.
Both the title and bright, jovial colours of Liebenswertes Spiel give a lightness and delicacy to the heavy war time materials that Schwitter’s used in his construction of the form. This cheerfulness can very well be seen as reflecting the artist’s new found freedom and success after many years as persecuted fugitive.