Painter

Otto Dix

Otto Dix was a German painter associated with New Objectivity, known for sharp Weimar-era portraits, war imagery, and unsettling depictions of modern life.

Otto Dix quick facts

Dix's experience as a soldier informed portraits and wartime images whose controlled, often unsentimental detail became central to New Objectivity.

Otto Dix quick facts
Full name	Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix
Born	1891 · Untermhaus near Gera, German Empire
Died	1969 · Singen, West Germany
Nationality	German
Movements	New Objectivity; earlier Expressionist experiments
Paint types	Oil paint · Tempera (binder unspecified) · Watercolor
Other media	—
Other materials	Metal leaf in Dr. Mayer-Hermann
Painting surfaces	Wood · Canvas · Paper
Painting methods	Detailed oil and tempera portrait modeling, sometimes with metal leaf; expressive watercolor figure studies on paper
Common subjects	Veterans, doctors, performers, wartime injuries, portraits, nightlife, and inequality in Weimar society
Notable works	Dr. Mayer-Hermann · Portrait of the Art Dealer Johanna Ey · The War · Skat Players

Sources: MoMA: Otto Dix, MoMA: Dr. Mayer-Hermann, MoMA: Portrait of Violinist Carlo von Rust, Kunstsammlung NRW: Johanna Ey, oil on canvas, Leopold Museum: Rosa, watercolor on paper.

Paint types used by Otto Dix

Dix used oil and tempera for exacting portraits, sometimes adding metal leaf, while watercolor served his sharp studies of people and scenes on paper.

Oil paint

Dix combined oil with tempera and metal leaf on wood for Dr. Mayer-Hermann (1926). The latter portrait's repeated round forms give a wry emphasis to the doctor's face and body; metal leaf is a separate decorative material, not a paint type.
Tempera paint

MoMA explicitly lists tempera alongside oil and metal leaf in Dr. Mayer-Hermann, painted on wood. The museum does not specify the tempera binder, so it should not automatically be identified as egg tempera; Dix's precise modeling drew on older German painting traditions without simply reproducing one historic recipe.
Watercolor paint

Portrait of Violinist Carlo von Rust (1920) is pencil and watercolor on paper. In Rosa (1923), Dix used contrasting red and green watercolors to characterize a theatrical figure. These works document watercolor in his graphic practice, distinct from the oil and tempera panels.

Sources: Kunstsammlung NRW: Portrait of the Art Dealer Johanna Ey, oil on canvas, MoMA: Dr. Mayer-Hermann, oil, tempera, and metal leaf on wood, MoMA: watercolor Portrait of Violinist Carlo von Rust, and Leopold Museum: watercolor Rosa.

Painting surfaces used by Otto Dix

Documented works by Otto Dix use Wood, Canvas, Paper, with examples below clarifying when a material is a painted ground, backing, or constructed element.

Wood

Dix painted on wood panels, including MoMA’s Dr. Mayer-Hermann (1926), cataloged as oil, tempera, and metal leaf on wood. The rigid panel carries a tightly modeled portrait with repeated circular forms; the museum record distinguishes the wooden support from the added gold leaf.
Canvas

Dix also made paintings on canvas, including the portrait of art dealer Johanna Ey (1924). The flexible support carries closely observed features and carefully modeled clothing, distinct from the wooden panel of Dr. Mayer-Hermann and his watercolor sheets. The portrait’s collection record confirms its canvas support.
Paper

Paper supports Dix’s watercolors, drawings, and mixed-media works. Portrait of Violinist Carlo von Rust (1920) is pencil and watercolor on paper, documenting a sheet-based practice that differs from his oils on canvas and tempera on wood. The museum catalog identifies paper as the support.

Sources: MoMA: Otto Dix, MoMA: Dr. Mayer-Hermann, MoMA: Portrait of Violinist Carlo von Rust, Kunstsammlung NRW: Johanna Ey, oil on canvas, Leopold Museum: Rosa, watercolor on paper.

Painters similar to Otto Dix

Cadmus and Tooker provide useful comparisons through precise figuration, social unease, and historical tempera techniques, despite differing movements.

Paul Cadmus

Paul Cadmus was an American painter known for figurative social satire, sustained egg tempera, and casein, watercolor, and gouache studies on paper.

George Tooker

George Tooker was an American painter known for egg-tempera scenes of offices, subways, and waiting rooms, often centered on isolation and social tension.