Kleine Reisegesellschaft (trans.: “Small travelling party”)

The painting “Kleine Reisegesellschaft” (trans.: “Small travelling party”) (90.5 x 79.0 cm) by the artist Wilfried Falkenthal presents a group of three children and a dog standing on a green blanket in the midst of a bleak landscape. In the background, a large sailing ship is visible in the sky, sailing towards the group. The children form the centre of the picture and are striking in their attributes and poses: colourful feather headgear, a scooter, a hat with glasses, crossed arms and a paper hat. Although the group is basically referring to playing and fun through their costumes, toys and the dog, especially combined with the title that evokes travel to holiday resorts, the group seems strangely misplaced in the brown landscape with almost naked trees. The painting was produced in 1979 and bought by the FDGB Federal Committee in 1983, before being loaned to the Berlin Congress Center, where it was usesd as art in architecture.