My God, help me to survive this deadly love
Encyclopedia
My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love , sometimes referred to as the Fraternal Kiss , is a graffiti painting on the Berlin wall
by Dmitri Vrubel
, one of the best known of the Berlin wall graffiti paintings
. Created in 1990, the painting depicts Leonid Brezhnev
and Erich Honecker
in a fraternal embrace, reproducing a photograph that captured the moment in 1979 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic
. The painting was destroyed in March 2009.
on October 7, 1979. The photograph was widely republished. Brezhnev was visiting East Germany at the time to celebrate its founding as a Communist nation. On October 5th, East Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a ten year agreement of mutual support under which East Germany would provide ships, machinery and chemical equipment to the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union would provide fuel and nuclear equipment to East Germany.
Currently, the photo is a courtesy of Corbis Corporation
.
.
Photographer Bossu and Vrubel met in 2009 and were photographed together on 16 June with reproductions of their works.
According to Anthony Read
and David Fisher
, the painting is "particularly striking, with a sharp, satirical edge." However, it was also widely criticized on creation as a straightforward reproduction of the photograph which inspired it.
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
by Dmitri Vrubel
Dmitri Vrubel
Dmitri Vladimirovich Vrubel is a Russian painter, best known for his East Side Gallery-painting My God, help me to survive this deadly love, depicting the kissing communist leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker....
, one of the best known of the Berlin wall graffiti paintings
Berlin wall graffiti art
The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to separate Germany and Berlin during the Cold War. The wall was on the "death strip". All the differences between the countries made it a perfect place for people to express their opinions, especially on their preferences and dislikes. In the 1980s, the...
. Created in 1990, the painting depicts Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
and Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
in a fraternal embrace, reproducing a photograph that captured the moment in 1979 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. The painting was destroyed in March 2009.
The photograph
The iconic photograph capturing the famed embrace was snapped by Regis Bossu in East BerlinEast Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
on October 7, 1979. The photograph was widely republished. Brezhnev was visiting East Germany at the time to celebrate its founding as a Communist nation. On October 5th, East Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a ten year agreement of mutual support under which East Germany would provide ships, machinery and chemical equipment to the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union would provide fuel and nuclear equipment to East Germany.
Currently, the photo is a courtesy of Corbis Corporation
Corbis
Corbis Corporation is an American company, based in Seattle, Washington, that licenses the rights to photographs, footage and other visual media...
.
The painting
Vrubel created the painting in 1990. Along with other murals in the section, the painting continued in display after the wall was taken down, but vandalism and atmospheric conditions gradually led to its deterioration. In March 2009, the painting was destroyed, steamed off of the wall along with others to allow the original artists to repaint them with more durable paints. Vrubel was comissioned to repaint the piece, donating the €3000 fee he was paid to a social art project in MarzahnMarzahn
Marzahn is a locality within the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform led to the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf fusing into a single new borough...
.
Photographer Bossu and Vrubel met in 2009 and were photographed together on 16 June with reproductions of their works.
Critical reception to the painting
My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love became one of the best known works of graffiti art on the Berlin Wall.According to Anthony Read
Anthony Read
Anthony "Tony" Read is a British script editor, television writer and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Starting in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print...
and David Fisher
David Fisher (artist)
David Fisher is an award-winning English artist and designer based in Midsomer Norton, Somerset. He was a prolific designer and painter of pub signs before securing a unique commission to create vast murals to improve UK service stations. He has won many awards including the Holburne Museum of...
, the painting is "particularly striking, with a sharp, satirical edge." However, it was also widely criticized on creation as a straightforward reproduction of the photograph which inspired it.