Samoans (Samoanerinnen)

1911

In 1910 the paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi and a handpicked entourage of singers and dancers traveled to Germany from Samoa—then a German colony—for what colonial officials had framed as a diplomatic mission. Although Tamasese did secure meetings with many German dignitaries, he was dismayed to discover the true purpose of the visit: to have his troupe stage cultural shows for European audiences in zoos.

In this depiction of a performance, Erich Heckel’s abstracted style likely takes inspiration from art of the Pacific Islands, a place German artists idealized as untouched by modern forces. Yet his primitivized portrayal of the dancers—which distorts both their bodies and the costuming recorded in photographs—reflects the modern dynamic of colonial exploitation that shaped this encounter.