People," George Grosz, 1919

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People," George Grosz, 1919

     Georg Ehrenfried Groß was born in 1901 in Berlin to a father who was a pub owner and a mother who became a keeper of an office after the death of his father when he was eight.  At a young age his cousin convienced George to take a weekly drawing class and in 1909 he went to Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.  In 1914 he went into the military but was hospitalized and discharge in 1915. In 1916 he changed his the spelling of his name to George Grosz, to protest against Germain nationalism and his love for America.  He was fined and arrested multiple times for his anti-Germain art and finally shortly after Hitler came to power Grosz left Germany and went to America.

     In his picture "People" George Grosz portrays different types of people from different social class' walking in a street.  People might think that people in the higher social class would be happier than those in the lower social class.  However he draws the people in all classes having the same facial expression, of tired, worrisome, upset.  I believe he wanted to show the German people that old world art might want to sell you on the fact that the higher social class you are in and the more money that you make, makes you happier.