Oberlin Digital Commons at Oberlin Honors Papers Student Work 2016 Icon of Heroic “Degeneracy”: The Journey of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Self-Portrait as a Soldier Meghan E. Mette Oberlin College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors Part of the History Commons Repository Citation Mette, Meghan E., "Icon of Heroic “Degeneracy”: The Journey of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Self-Portrait as a Soldier" (2016). Honors Papers. 237. https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/237 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Digital Commons at Oberlin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Oberlin. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Icon of Heroic “Degeneracy” The Journey of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Self-Portrait as a Soldier Meghan E. Mette Candidate for Senior Honors in History Oberlin College Thesis Advisor: Professor Leonard Smith Spring, 2016 To Dad, who sparked my interest in art and the stories it can tell… Mette ii Table of Contents I. Preface…………………………………………………………………………… vi II. Introduction……………………………………………………………………....1 III. Chapter 1: Self-Portrait as a Soldier in Wilhelmine and Weimar Germany…. …………………………………………………………………………………….9 IV. Chapter 2: Self-Portrait as a Soldier under Nazi Denunciation……………....17 V. Chapter 3: From Degeneration to Idolization; The Painting’s Journey to America…………………………………………………………………………..27 VI. Chapter 4: Self-Portrait as a Soldier’s Success in the United States and Beyond…………………………………………………………………………...35 VII. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….50 VIII. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..54 Mette iii Acknowledgements I would first like to acknowledge my thesis advisor, Professor Leonard Smith, who has guided me through this process from the start and taught me to think about my research in new and profound ways.