Agosta the Winged Man and Rasha the Black Dove
Agosta the Winged Man and Rasha the Black Dove Lyrics
and stopped at the wall,
staring
at a blank space. Behind him
the clang and hum of Hardenbergstrasse, its
automobiles and organ grinders.
Quarter to five.
His eyes traveled
to the plaster scrollwork
on the ceiling. Did that
hold back heaven?
He could not leave his skin - once
he'd painted himself in a new one,
silk green, worn
like a shirt.
He thought
of Rasha, so far from Madagascar,
turning slowly in place as
the boa constrictor
coiled counterwise its
heavy love. How
the spectators gawked, exhaling
beer and sour herring sighs.
When the tent lights dimmed,
Rasha went back to her trailer and plucked
a chicken for dinner
The canvas,
He remembered Katja the Russian
aristocrat, late
for every sitting,
still fleeing
the October Revolution -
how she clutched her sides
and said not
one word. Whereas Agosta
(the doorbell rang)
was always on time, lip curled
as he spoke in wonder of women
trailing
backstage to offer him
the consummate bloom of their lust.
Schad would place him
on a throne, a white sheet tucked
over his loins, the black suit jacket
thrown off like a cloak.
Agosta had told him
of the medical students
at the Charite
that chill arena
where he perched on
a cot, his torso
exposed, its crests and fins
a colony of birds trying
to get out . . .
and the students
lumps caught
in their throats, taking notes.
foot on the stair.
She moved slowly, as if she carried
the snake around her body
always.
once
she brought fresh eggs into
the studio, flecked and
warm as breath
Agosta in
classical drapery, then,
and Rasha at his feet.
Without passion. Not
the canvas
but their gaze,
so calm,
was merciless.
About
Agosta the Winged-Man & Rasha the Black Dove was painted in 1929. The work was created in Germany; Christian Schad was living and working there during this time. The work has two figures, one male and one female. The female, Rasha, is of African descent and wears a red tribal print dress. Her hair is cut short and curly. Behind her is a shirtless German male, Agosta and he is depicted sitting in a high-backed chair. His shirt and jacket are strewn behind him. He has a mutation of his skeleton which causes his ribs to protrude from his abdomen. Only the upper half of each figure is visible.
Agosta and Rasha were parts of a sideshow act at the fair. Each person had their own claim to fame. Rasha had two interesting aspects to her that the crowd enjoyed: she was from Madagascar and she danced with a large snake. Rasha was married to a German man and they, along with their son, lived in a caravan. Her husband was a performer as well, he lifted weights by using a hook inserted through his tongue. Christian Schad reported that one day Rasha came in for a painting session and was very upset because she caught her son attempting to pierce a hole through his tongue with a nail to be like his father. The snake she performed with also lived in the caravan with them.
Agosta’s claim to fame was that he had a severely deformed upper body. He was a spectacle for the visitors to look at because of the rarity of his deformity. He was also used as a teaching method at the Berlin teaching hospital because of his skeletal deformity. Even side shows have their groupies, Agosta claimed to Christian Schad during a painting session that he was always having to ward of women and turn them down because he loved his wife.
His work is static. Christian Schad was known for painting a lot of his works as static and lacking motion. The two figures in the work are being observed, which is not farfetched from their daily lives. Instead of being scrutinized for being different they are the subjects of a work of art; a thing of beauty. They are not being observed, because they are different. It is their differences that make them beautiful.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
