Will the real Otto Dix please stand up?: Dix, Nietzsche, and Lacan

This thesis is an analysis of paintings created by the German modernist Otto Dix (1891-1969) through the dual methodology of Nietzschean philosophy and Lacanian psychoanalysis. This thesis focuses on self-portraits made by Dix, but analyzes them as part of a larger output by the artist. The content of the self-portraits is studied and interpreted according to values and symbolism espoused in Nietzsche's writings, with a particular focus on Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The self-portraits are also studied as representations that reflect Dix's self-image as well as a desired public image that he projected through these works. By looking at Dix's self-portraits through this two frameworks, this thesis argues that Dix's self-portraits function not as social critique, but as a powerful form of self-identification that functions to present an idealized Dix. The presence of this idealized Dix affects the meaning of those social images and requires the viewer to regard Dix's work as a subjective reflection of his identity, rather than as an objective social critique.