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Then and Now: Communist Kiss in 1996
See the 2000 version below.

 
Communist Kiss in 2000
See the 1996 version above.

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Then and now. Two views of the famous “Communist Kiss” painting: Fellow communists Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev kissing each other on the mouth. The larger photo shows the work as it appeared in 1996; the other shows how badly it has been abused and its appearance in August 2000. Although there was already some minor damage in 1996, four years later the faces have been painted over and almost all the detail is gone. The “Kiss” by Russian artist Dmitry (Dmitrij) Vrubel (actual title: “Mein Gott hilf mir, diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben” = “God help me to survive this deadly love”) was not included in the 2000 restoration. The German title (a translation of the Russian text at the top and bottom) can be read at the bottom of the panel in 1996. Vrubel has also painted smaller oil/acrylic-on-canvas versions of this image.

MORE > 2007/2008 East Side Photos

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