Prosit Neujahr!
| Edition | Original Art |
|---|---|
| Sujet | Mythology and Symbolism |
| Technique | Zeichnung |
| Height | 40 cm |
| Width | 30 cm |
| Length/Depth | 4 cm |
Material:
Newspaper, glue, gesso, oil on canvas
Technique:
Mixed media
Description:
This issue of Simplicissimus was published on 2 January 1911. The front cover bears the title ‘Prosit Neujahr!’ and was illustrated by R. Thöny (Eduard Thöny), one of Simplicissimus’s most important illustrators.
The illustration depicts the transition from 1910 to 1911. Whilst some figures step into the new year full of hope, others appear to be haunted by worries, chaos and uncertainty. Thöny mocks the notion that everything automatically gets better with the turn of the year. Rather, the new year inherits the unresolved political and social problems of the old.
The caricature takes aim at the widespread optimism at the start of a new year and serves as a reminder that conflicts, crises and power struggles do not simply vanish with a new calendar.
Even today, many people associate the turn of the year with the hope of a fresh start. At the same time, issues such as wars, inflation, political polarisation, economic uncertainty and social tensions persist. As in 1911, the cartoon shows that whilst historical circumstances may change, many fundamental social patterns remain remarkably constant.
Postage:
The artwork cannot be dispatched until 24 August 2026.
The artwork will be shipped stretched on a stretcher frame – including a certificate of authenticity and a signature on the reverse.
Anna Hopfensberger
(Munich/New York) is a visual artist with a solid academic background in classical and contemporary art.
From 2019 to 2022
,
she undertook an intensive art programme at the Alte Spinnerei in Kolbermoor, Bavaria. She subsequently continued her training at the New York Academy of Art (NYAA), where she undertook a Master’s degree from 2023 to 2025. There, she was taught by renowned professors such as Steven Assael, Vincent Desiderio, Marshall Jones, Manu Saluja and Michael Grimaldi.
Her artistic development was also shaped by her close collaboration with Clifford Owens as part of her thesis work, as well as by critical guidance from Ana Benaroya.
Anna works in a figurative style, using an androgynous central figure as a ‘Everyman’ – serving both as a self-portrait and a canvas for projection. In deliberately skewed, playful interiors, she explores identity and the complex psychological layers of a being: memory, expectation, belonging – as a journey through the past, present and future. Form emerges through free, expressive brushstrokes; these are contrasted by graphic elements that sharpen the composition and direct the viewer’s gaze. Symbolic objects play a central role, acting as narrative markers and transforming everyday situations into condensed spaces of meaning.
Anna works primarily with oil and oil pencils, orchestrating colour in finely tuned layers – ‘combed’ together, rich in nuances yet applied with precision. Art history, classical literature, cinema and observations of everyday life form her frame of reference.
Timeline – Anna Hopfensberger
Education
- 2023–2025 – Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the New York Academy of Art, New York, USA
- 2019–2022 – Art Studies at the Art Academy in Kolbermoor, Bavaria, Germany
Art Fairs
- 9–12 March 2023 – Word ART Dubai, Dubai, UAE
- 11–16 February 2021 – 18th Annual Palm Beach Show, Florida, USA
Museum Exhibitions
- 20–24 May 2023 – National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC), Egypt
- 11–13 November 2022 – Frauen Museum, Bonn, Germany
- 31 October–15 November 2018 – MIIT Museum, Turin, Italy
Magazine Features
- April, May & June 2023 – British Vogue (Print Issues)
- May & June 2023 – Tatler Magazine (Print Issues)
- December 2018 – Architectural Digest, New York, USA
Public Projects
- 3 December 2022–16 April 2023 – Art Project at Kristallhütte, Zillertal, Austria
Solo Exhibitions
- 21 April–5 June 2022 – Body Talk, Kunstquartier, Leonberg, Germany
Group Exhibition
- 3–24 April 2026 – Group exhibition, Autoren Galerie 1 “Bilder, Briefe, Noten XVIV”, Munich, Germany
- 31 January–1 August 2026 – Group exhibition “Polyphonic Views” with the Dr Hans Riegel Foundation at Kulturbunker, Bonn, Germany
- 8–17 May 2025 – MFA Thesis Exhibition, New York Academy of Art, New York, USA
- 28 March–6 April 2025 – Group exhibition at “All the Light I See” with the Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, USA,
- 17 April 2025 – Tribeca Ball, New York Academy of Art, New York, USA,
- 27 February–2 May 2025 – Wall Exhibition, New York Academy of Art, New York, USA
- 25–28 July 2024 – Studio Show One, Taylor + Ponce Contemporary Art, New York, USA
- 13 June 2024 – Summer Spirit: Tenacious Women in Art, Landmark Art Space, Chelsea, NY, USA
- 13 June–15 August 2024 – Kick-off – Technique & Tactics through the Lens of Art, with Toninho Dingl, Lukas Zimmermann, Jasha Schwarz & others, SKM Galerie, Leipzig, Germany
- 9 May 2024 – Tribeca Ball, New York Academy of Art, New York, USA
- 24 April–19 May 2024 – The Wall Exhibition, New York Academy of Art, New York, USA
- 6–9 September 2023 – Collective, Kuehlhaus Berlin, Germany
- , 10–26 May 2023 – Collective, Autoren Galerie 1, Munich, Germany
- 13–15 May 2022 – Collective, Pop Up Galerie, Leipzig, Germany
- 29 April–13 May 2022 – Collective, Autoren Galerie 1, Munich, Germany
- 22 October–5 November 2021 – Group exhibition, Autoren Galerie 1, Munich, Germany
- , 16–19 September 2021 – SKM exhibition featuring Fynn Kliemann, Toninho Dingl, Lukas Zimmermann, Jasha Schwarz and others, Leipzig, Germany
- , 29 June–30 July 2021 – Live Art Exhibition & Show, Glasgow Garage Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
