Known as Blue Beard or the Beast of the Silesian train station district of Berlin, Carl Großmann stands out among other notorious criminals of Weimar Germany like Fritz Haarmann and Peter Kürten, epitomizing the sexual and moral decadence, as well as the anxieties around sex and gender, that marked the period that preceded the rise of fascism in the country.

Suspected of killing, dismembering, and cannibalizing numerous women, Großmann committed suicide before the conclusion of his trial, leaving the full extent of his crimes unknown.

Oil on canvas

8 1/4 inches x 6 1/4 inches framed

Friese Undine (1965, Los Angeles) is a Brooklyn-based artist interested in psychology, primatology, human evolution, history, politics, cannibalism, and cabinets of curiosity.

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