The artist as homo politicus: the narrative paintings of Simon Rosenthal

The narrative paintings of the young German artist Simon Rosenthal, who lives in Dresden, mark an extraordinary and strong position in the field of contemporary figurative painting.

Arising from the intellectual examination of our time, they ignite at contemporary discourses, always reflecting the now. Containing multiple irritations in form and content, they deliberately break with the viewer’s expectations in many ways, evoking all kinds of ambiguities and ambivalence.

Negating any regional or temporal classification, Rosenthal’s works conjure up a sphere above time, and may be looked at as a profound sort of political riddles.

Referring to cultural history, he creates a unique figurative cosmos, where European themes are raised, closely linked with the question of power. The presented works show the artist Simon Rosenthal as «homo politicus».