Emil Orlik
The People Storming the Palace from “King Oedipus”
1910
(Production by Max Reinhardt at Circus Schumann Berlin, 1910)
Crayon lithograph in black
Berlin City Museum Foundation
Emil Orlik (1870–1932) attended rehearsals for the performance of “Oedipus Rex” at Circus Schumann and captured particularly impressive moments of the production in sketches. He then translated these into lithographs.
He was particularly interested in the contrast between a ruler and the masses of excited people: the plague-stricken people beg their king Oedipus for help. In ancient times, the dialogical structure of drama developed historically through the separation of a protagonist from the crowd.