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Bright art erased by a brutal ending

Charlotte by David Foenkinos (translated by Sam Taylor) Canongate £12.99

April 4, 2017 13:26
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2 min read

In Schubert’s Lied of Matthias Claudius’s poem, the maiden implores: “Pass me by, fierce man of bones! I’m still young. Don’t touch me.” Death reassures her: “Beautiful tender form! I’m not fierce. You’ll sleep softly in my arms.”

This exchange epitomises the symbiosis of life and death that dominated the existence of Charlotte Salomon, the Jewish painter, born in Berlin in 1917 to Albert Salomon, a surgeon, and Franzë Grünwald. While death, particularly her mother’s, haunted her family, Charlotte enshrined her life with extraordinary paintings.

Her father remarried in 1930. His wife, Paula Lindberg, a celebrated mezzo-soprano, and Charlotte developed an intensely loving relationship, especially after 1933, when Nazis began targeting Jews.

Around that time, Charlotte fell in love with Alfred Wolfsohn, Paula’s charismatic coach. Wolfsohn, perceiving Charlotte’s gifts, exhorted her to paint.