Standing Man and Two Heads 

Jules Schmalzigaug made this ink drawing called ‘Standing Man and Two Heads’. The image is not dated, but Schmalzigaug was working in Italy and elsewhere in Europe in the early 20th century, just before and during the First World War. He was one of a number of artists trying to bring the dynamism of modern life into art, often depicting figures in motion. In ‘Standing Man and Two Heads’ the artist offers us several perspectives at once, as if he were trying to capture not a static likeness but the shifting impression of a human being in time and space. Schmalzigaug’s interests are allied to those of the Italian Futurists, who were keen to rid the country of its museums and libraries. It’s worth consulting archives of exhibition catalogues and other ephemera to understand better the full cultural context of his work. In the end, such work helps us understand the place of art within a broader social world.