John Heartfield

Works

These two photomontages by John Heartfield (whose real name was Helmut Herzfeld) make artistic use of X-ray imaging. They appeared in the popular socialist weekly magazine, the Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung, where Heartfield had been a permanent employee since 1930.

One of the photomontages, Adolf, the Superhuman: Swallows Gold and Talks Rubbish, was displayed as a large-format poster during the 1933 Reichstag election campaign. It criticises bankers and industrialists who paved the way for Adolf Hitler to come to power.