The painter Oskar Kokoschka was the ace of hearts among Almas
four trump cards. Nevertheless she saw herself forced to break
up with him since Kokoschka came more dangerously close to
her inner being than any of her men before, or indeed after.
Apart from the countless paintings which testify to this anguished
relationship, there was also a saucy lifesize doll,
a faithful reproduction of Alma down to the most intimate
details, which Kokoschka had made in 1915 in order to console
himself for the loss of his loved one. The doll is destroyed
at the climax of an extravagant masked ball at the end of
the theatrical journey.
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