When German artist Charlotte Salomon (1917-1943) entrusted her series of gouache works, Life? or Theater?, to a friend, she urged him to “take very good care of it; it is my entire life.” A few months later, the five-months-pregnant Charlotte was arrested by the Gestapo and deported, first to Drancy and then to Auschwitz, where she died shortly after arriving at the age of 26.
Her work is infused with trauma but also pride and resistance. Coming from a family plagued by depression, Salomon’s legacy is indeed her pièce de résistance—in her own words, “something wildly eccentric.” This cycle of nearly 1300 autobiographical gouache paintings combines creative prowess with a groundbreaking personal narrative, forming a stunning document of self-expression.
The paintings are divided into three parts and present a vivid self-portrait encompassing all facets of Charlotte’s life: from her complex family life marred by the suicides of almost all female relatives; growing up in Berlin; her close relationship with vocal coach Alfred Wolfsohn; the rise of the Nazis; to her escape to France in 1939. Salomon transcended these destructive forces through playful pseudonyms and whimsical fantasy elements, paired with emotional honesty, keen observation, and an exceptional visual memory.
Her graphic novel-like sequences are interspersed not only with words but also musical suggestions, making Life? or Theater? the inspiration for a full musical years before the genre’s heyday. The gouaches are incomparable and uncategorizable, triumphs of personal truth and individual expression. Life? Or Theater?, presented here with a selection of key works, stands as the unparalleled magnum opus of an ambitious artist whose death was a tragic loss, but whose precision, lyricism, and courage shine with luminous greatness.
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