Letzte Novemberrose II 

Karl Wiener created this pencil drawing, “Letzte Novemberrose II,” in 1940. It depicts a nude male figure carrying a beam or bar over his shoulders. Wiener made this drawing at a time when his identity as a Jewish man placed him at extreme risk. During the Nazi regime, the male nude was appropriated to represent an Aryan ideal, yet here, the artist subverts this trope. The figure's exaggerated, almost caricatured features, such as the exposed rib cage and knock-knees, contrast sharply with classical representations of idealized male beauty. Is this figure a form of resistance? The title, which translates to “Last November Rose,” suggests a fading beauty or perhaps the end of something precious. Consider how the personal and political intersect in this drawing, reflecting Wiener’s struggle with identity and survival during a dark chapter in history. It serves as a poignant reminder of the human cost of intolerance, inviting us to reflect on the emotional and physical toll of persecution.