Nirwana

Max Reyher, Nirwana, 1928, oil on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.136
Copied Max Reyher, Nirwana, 1928, oil on wood, 15 5⁄8 x 19 3⁄4 in. (39.7 x 50.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.136
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Artwork Details

Title
Nirwana
Artist
Date
1928
Location
Dimensions
15 5⁄8 x 19 3⁄4 in. (39.7 x 50.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Literature — Eckstein — Nirwana
  • Allegory — religion — salvation
  • Landscape — imaginary
  • Animal — bird
Object Number
1986.65.136
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.136

Artwork Description

In Buddhist and Hindu traditions, Nirvana is the ultimate liberation, a state of existence free from all suffering or desire. This painting, however, suggests that the artist did not think his own end would be quite so peaceful. The hovering vulture, falling figure, and melting sun painted in somber colors express the sense of desperation that the German poet Ernst Eckstein described in a poem: "And lonely sounds in the endless space/ The Song of everlasting dead" (Sidney Janis, They Taught Themselves, 1942).