Karl-Otto Götz

Gilgamesh

1947

Not on display

Artist: Karl-Otto Götz born 1914
Original title: Gilgamesch
Medium: Relief print on paper
Dimensions: Image: 400 x 560 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by William Gear 1988
Reference: P11206

Display caption

The Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, which relates the exploits of a mythical hero, was inscribed on clay tablets dating from around 2,000 BC. Götz may have been drawn to this ancient myth as a source of archetypal imagery that pre-dates the tradition of western rationalism. In preparing the print, Götz used gloss paint to build up the outlines of the figures on the etching plate. When printing the sheet by hand, he pressed the ink between the ridges caused by these raised outlines

Gallery label, September 2004

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