thumb|Typical Vertical Mess as Depiction of the Dada Baargeld (1920)
Johannes Theodor Baargeld was a pseudonym of Alfred Emanuel Ferdinand Grünwald (9 October 1892 – 16 or 17 August 1927), a German painter and poet who, together with Max Ernst, founded the Cologne Dada group. He also used the name Zentrodada in connection with Dada.
Baargeld was born in Stettin (Szczecin), Prussian Pomerania. He studied jurisprudence at Oxford and Bonn. Baargeld was the editor of the periodical The Fan (Der Ventilator) which Ernst and Hans Arp started in 1919, and he collaborated on many other Dadaist publications such as Bulletin D and Dada W/3.
Military service
When war broke out in 1914, Baargeld enlisted and served as a reserve lieutenant for three years.
Literary career
After serving in the army, Baargeld began his literary career in 1917 by writing for Pfemfert's journal Die Aktion. His contributions were mostly lyrical and political works. A year after he began writing for Die Aktion, Baargeld joined the Independent Socialist Party of Germany (USPD).