The Red King (Le Roi rouge)

Johannes Theodor Baargeld (1892, 1927) was a German Dada artist and co-founder of the Cologne Dada movement. Working in collage, photomontage, and mixed media, he created works that combined satirical humor with formal experimentation, often incorporating found materials and unconventional techniques. Baargeld's practice emerged in the immediate aftermath of World War I and reflected the movement's rejection of aesthetic convention and embrace of chance. He died at age 35, leaving a compact but influential body of work that helped establish Dada's visual vocabulary in Germany.