The artwork titled “Witches Spitting Fire” was created by the artist Joseph Beuys in 1959. This piece is executed in oil, pencil, and paper, embodying the Neo-Dada art movement. It falls within the genre of nude painting (nu) and measures 20.7 x 29.7 cm. At present, it is housed within the Tate Modern in London, United Kingdom.
The artwork presents a unique and surreal depiction, featuring two figures that resemble witches in an act of spitting fire. These figures are abstractly rendered, with the minimalistic use of pencil to outline their form against a backdrop of dense, visceral brown textures that might represent a tempestuous, fiery environment. The brown medium appears thickly applied, giving the piece a dynamic and almost three-dimensional feel, opposing the flatness that is typical in drawings.
The figures are depicted in a stylized and reduced form, consistent with Beuys’ practice of integrating organic materials and exploring themes such as mythology and transformation. The artwork juxtaposes the simplicity of the line drawings against the raw, tactile quality of the medium that visually bursts from the paper. This juxtaposition may speak to the tension between the ethereal and the earthly, a recurrent theme in Beuys’ oeuvre. Overall, “Witches Spitting Fire” captures an ephemeral narrative moment, encapsulating the radical spirit of Neo-Dada in challenging traditional aesthetics and provoking viewers to engage with the artist’s symbolic language.
