This early drawing is indebted to the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau and was created around the time that Brooker developed his concept of Ultimatism, a theory devoted to unleashing the ultimately spiritual nature of humans. Ultrahomo was his name for a figure conceived by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). Known as “the Superman,” this figure had to be many things: a “seer, a purposer, a creator, a future itself, and a bridge to the future.” Ultrahomo is not so much heroic as he is otherworldly, and this may be precisely what Brooker intended with this representation.
Cosmic Consciousness: The Art of Bertram Brooker
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Bertram Brooker, Ultrahomo, c.1912–13
Pencil drawing, 20 x 17.8 cm, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa