JOHANN KNOPF Outline and tone The blackbirds illuminating this frantic
An "Outsider" artist who suffered from mental manuscript are drawn in pencil, firmly outlined, numbered,
illness. Knopf believed he could understand the and filled evenly with tone. The main group is placed in
language of birds, which often feature as symbolic a circle drawn with a compass. The text, written last of all,
creatures in his drawings. The German art historian appears to be stirred like water by the presence of the
and psychiatrist Hans Prinzhom collected this image. circle and the birds.
The Mysterious Affairs of the
Murderous Attacks
UNDATED
133 / 8 x 115 / 8 in (340 x 296 mm)
JOHANN KNOPF