(Chernivtsi 1874–1951 Vienna)
“Simson”, Opus 64, 1928, signed O. Laske, tempera on canvas, 105 x 75 cm, framed

Registered:
Oskar Laske, Der künstlerische Nachlaß, published by Lily Schulz-Laske/Elisabeth Kesselbauer-Laske, Vienna p. 7/64-there “Simsons Tod”

Illustrated:
Cornelia Reiter, Oskar Laske, Ein vielseitiger Individualist, Veröffentlichung der Albertina no. 39, Verlag Galerie Welz, 1995, p. 42, ill. 38 (b/w) and full-page colour ill. pl. 6

Provenance:
Collection Lilly Schulz-Laske (1902-1992), Vienna, the artist’s adopted daughter;
Gift from the above to the present owner –
Private Collection, Vienna

Composition 64 from the year 1928, titled “Simson” [Samson], describes an event from the story of Samson in the Old Testament Book of Judges. It is both chronologically proximate and chromatically and compositionally related to the third edition of “Judgement Day”. Blind Samson, robbed of his hair and thus his strength through Delilah’s deceit, regains his strength one last time in order to bring down the temple and thus doom the Philistines.
The actual theme of this painting is the collapse of the powerful architecture, reminiscent of Laske’s apocalyptic visions, which he captures afresh in the manner of a snapshot. The individual, blasted architectural fragments and the people spinning through the air are again brought together in a dynamic, orbiting composition, and act almost as a visualisation of the relative concepts of time and motion […]
A potential stimulus for this original interpretation of the Old Testament scene which foregrounds the collapse is the thematically-related page “Samson’s Death” from Gustave Doré’s illustrated bible. Doré also juxtaposes the massive, falling masonry with the tiny figures of falling and fleeing humans.
From the mentioned literature