Life Portrait

work by Höch

Also known as: “Lebensbild”

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July 21, 2026

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"Life Portrait" is a photomontage created by Hannah Höch between 1972 and 1973. Photomontage is a technique where an image is created by combining various photographic fragments. Höch, a key figure in the Berlin Dada group, used this method to explore themes of gender, identity, and societal perceptions during the Weimar era.12

In "Life Portrait," Höch assembled images of herself alongside pictures of her earlier collages, effectively creating a self-retrospective work. This piece exemplifies her lifelong artistic practice of using collage to challenge conventions and societal norms.1

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Hannah Höch
…construct a retrospective work: in Life Portrait (1972–73; Lebensbild), she assembled her own past, using photos of herself juxtaposed with images of past collages that she had cut from exhibition catalogues. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, her work began to receive renewed attention, thanks to a concerted effort…
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…construct a retrospective work: in Life Portrait (1972–73; Lebensbild), she assembled her own past, using photos of herself juxtaposed with images of past collages that she had cut from exhibition catalogues. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, her work began to receive renewed attention, thanks to a concerted effort…
Read More