My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love
| My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Artist | Dmitri Vrubel |
| Year | 1990 |
| Type | Graffiti |
| Dimensions | 365 cm × 480 cm (143.7 in × 189 in) |
| Location | East Side Gallery, East Berlin, German Democratic Republic |
My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love (Russian: «Господи! Помоги мне выжить среди этой смертной любви» Gospodi! Pomogi mne vyzhit' sredi etoy smertnoy lyubvi, German: Mein Gott, hilf mir, diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben), sometimes referred to as the Fraternal Kiss (German: Bruderkuss), 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 well-known photograph capturing the famed embrace was taken by Régis Bossu in East Berlin on October 7, 1979. It was widely republished. Brezhnev was visiting East Germany at the time to celebrate the anniversary of its founding as a Communist nation. On October 5, 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 rights for the photo are managed by Corbis Corporation.
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, along with others, was erased from the wall to allow the original artists to repaint them with more durable paints. Vrubel was commissioned to repaint the piece, donating the €3000 fee he was paid to a social art project in Marzahn.
...
Wikipedia