Most people knows Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ (1927) but his most remarkable film-making achievement probably is 1924’s Die Nibelungen: a strange, visually staggering monster of a story, divided into two distinct but interconnected films, which sees Lang working on his grandest canvas, its fire-and-brimstone spectacle as vast and audacious as anything seen in the silent era, or arguably since.
To celebrate Lang’s crowning achievement we’re delighted to release two posters for Fritz Lang’s ‘Die Nibelungen’ by Vienna based illustrator Peter Diamond. ‘Die Nibelungen: Siegfried’ and ‘Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge’ will be available to purchase this Tuesday 31 July at a random time from mondotees.com for our North American friends, and at 5pm UK time from our shop for everyone else.
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‘Die Nibelungen: Siegfried’ by Peter Diamond
18" x 24" hand-pulled screen print
270gsm Mohawk Superfine Ultrawhite paper
Hand numbered. Gallery stamp on the reverse
Printed by White Duck Editions in the UK
Limited edition of 70
$55/£40
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge
18" x 24" hand-pulled screen print
270gsm Mohawk Superfine Ultrawhite paper
Hand numbered. Gallery stamp on the reverse
Printed by White Duck Editions in the UK
Limited edition of 70
$55/£40
“An Art Deco interpretation of an ancient epic text, by a turn-of-the-century Austrian filmmaker, is so up my alley it's almost ridiculous. Working on these posters was an absolute treat.
The most striking thing to me about the two films of 'Die Nibelungen' was how different in tone the story becomes as the focus shifts from Siegfried to Kriemhild. The first is very direct and immediate, the second is much more twisting and difficult.
Given the pretty straightforward hero tale of 'Siegfried', I expected that the widow of the murdered hero would in turn be the heroine as she takes over in 'Kriemhild's Revenge'. But there's no heroine. She gets her revenge but becomes a monster in the process.
I've designed the posters with that in mind, aiming for a unity of style between them while still reflecting that contrast in tone and in the characterisation of the leading figures. The color scheme is inspired by the warm golden tones laid over the black and white in the original version of the films.
These two posters are meant to be together, but I hope that each will stand on its own as an homage to what's become a favourite film of mine.” - Peter Diamond
