Wagner

On the occasion of the new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen
Elizabeth Peyton
February 25, 2011 – May 14, 2011

Elizabeth Peyton’s Wagner was the second in the four-part series of exhibitions celebrating the Met’s new Ring cycle, coinciding with the premiere of Die Walküre. The artist created new monotypes and drawings based on the characters from the Ring and loaned two existing portraits of Wagner’s patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The exhibition’s nearly 30 works extended beyond the gallery and onto other levels of the opera house, a first in Gallery Met history. “There is a sound of human emotions that Wagner captures that is so heartbreaking,” said Peyton, who immersed herself in the Ring, Tristan und Isolde, and Tannhäuser recordings while creating the works that appear in Wagner. “It’s a challenge to embrace Wagner as a human being—not as hard to embrace him as an artist. To make a narrative so transcendent is a gigantic feat, and the music is so mindblowing.”

After Camille Claudel (Étude, Couple) (one), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
39 x 31 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Wotan Kissing Away Brunhilde’s Godlike Power (two), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
47.675 x 34.75 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

After Camille Claudel, 2010
colored pencil on paper
8 5/8 x 6 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Valkyries, 2010
colored pencil on paper
11 1/2 x 9 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Fricka and Wotan, 2010
colored pencil on paper
11 1/2 x 9 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Wotan Kissing Away Brunhilde’s Godlike Power (Black and Blue), 2010
colored pencil on paper
11 5/8 x 8 1/4 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Sieglinde and Siegmund (Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes, Die Walkure, 1989, NYC) (one), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
47 7/8 x 34 3/4 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Lichtenstein, Flowers, Parsifal, 2011
monotype on handmade paper
30 1/2 x 22 1/4 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Richard Wagner, 2010
colored pencil on paper
8 5/8 x 6 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Wotan and Brunhilde, 2010
colored pencil on paper
11 5/8 x 8 1/4 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Nietzsche, 2010
pastel pencil and colored pencil on paper
8 5/8 x 7 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Brangane and Isolde, 2010
etching in black ink on Somerset White Velvet Paper
7.9 x 10 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Nude (after Camille Claudel) and Flowers, 2010
colored pencil and pastel on paper
11 3/4 x 9 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Richard Wagner, 1860 (three), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
36 1/2 x 30 1/2 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Richard Wagner, 1860 (one), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
36 1/2 x 30 1/2 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Wotan Kissing Away Brunhilde’s Godlike Power (three), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
47 1/2 x 34 1/2 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Sieglinde and Siegmund (Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes, Die Walkure,1989, NYC) (two), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
47 3/4 x 35 1/4 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Giant, Tristan and Isolde (Ludwig and Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1855) (four), 2010
monotype on handmade paper
38 3/4 x 30 1/2 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Flowers, Lichtenstein, Parsifal, 2011
oil on wood
12 x 9 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Ludwig II After He Drowned, 1994
oil on canvas
8 x 10 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Ludwig II with Josef Kainz, 1992
charcoal on paper
16 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Rhinemaidens (Norns), 1876, 2010
etching in black ink on Somerset White Velvet Paper
12 x 9 inches
Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise, NY

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Wagner.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Wagner.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Richard Wagner, 1860 (one) on the Family Circle.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Wotan Kissing Away Brunhilde’s Godlike Power (three) on the Grand Tier and Giant, Tristan and Isolde (Ludwig and Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1855) (four) on the Parterre.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Sieglinde and Siegmund (Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes, Die Walkure,1989, NYC) (two) in a Parterre costume display case.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Ludwig II After He Drowned in a Parterre archival display case.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Flowers, Lichtenstein, Parsifal alongside the baton presented by Ludwig II of Bavaria to Richard Wagner for the world premiere of Parsifal.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Ludwig II with Josef Kainz with historic Brünnhilde shields in Founder's Hall North.

Installation view of Elizabeth Peyton’s Rhinemaidens (Norns), 1876 with historic props and photos from the Ring cycle outside of List Hall.