Der Moloch (around 1943)

Karl Wiener’s striking painting, "Der Moloch" (ca. 1943), presents a vivid and complex visual landscape that draws heavily on surrealism and symbolism to convey its message. The painting features a dramatically stylized figure seated atop a chaotic assortment of newspaper clippings, symbols, and geometric shapes, clearly referencing the turmoil and propaganda of the wartime era in which it was created.The central figure in the artwork is rendered in bold, angular forms, draped in a garment that resembles a uniform, hinting at military or authoritarian themes. This figure holds a scepter and sits before a backdrop that includes a large, menacing bolt of lightning emanating from a radiant sun, as well as cryptic letters arranged to spell "MENE TEKEL," phrases which biblically symbolize imminent doom or judgment.Beneath the figure, the debris of newspapers and documentation, along with visible swastikas, indicate a critique of political regimes and the pervasive spread of ideology through media. The presence of a cross inscribed with a swastika further intensifies the painting’s political commentary, likely critiquing the merging of state and religious symbols for propagandist purposes."Der Moloch" serves as a powerful artistic exploration of authority, control, and the impact of political machinery during a tumultuous period in history. It evokes reflection on the ways societies and individuals are manipulated by the machinations of power, encapsulated in the overwhelming yet precisely arranged composition by Wiener.