Der blaue Engel

This metal sculpture of an angel, standing in our garden on an old railways sleeper, was made by a friend many moons ago. He intended that it should slowly and artistically rust away to dust. I thought that it deserved a longer life and so painted it blue. It has just received its annual brush up.

Perhaps I was inspired by The Blue Angel , the 1930 German film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich and Kurt Gerron. Based on Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat set in Weimar Germany, the Blue Angel presents the tragic transformation of a man from a respectable professor to a cabaret clown, and his descent into madness. A cheerful tale!