Cathedral (large block)
Artist
Lyonel Feininger
(German/American, 1871 - 1956)
Date1919
MediumWoodcut
Dimensions12 x 7 1/2 in.
ClassificationsRelief Print (Woodcut, Linoleum cut)
Credit LineLouis Mohill Foundation Fund and Jane and Victor Darnell Fund
Object number1990.06.9
Description"Kathedrale" was one of many woodcuts used to illustrate Bauhaus publications. The Museum also owns thirteen similar woodcuts by Feininger. "Kathedrale "appeared on the cover of the Bauhaus Manifesto (1919), which was published in Weimar. It depicts a Gothic cathedral and identifies the principles of medieval architecture as one of the school's most significant sources of inspiration. Like Delaunay, Feininger created a highly energetic image and the cathedral appears to move upward. Thus, Feininger and his colleagues at the Bauhaus sought to convey the very avant-garde, innovative vision of their school, which seems to propel itself into the future. He demonstrated his mastery of the woodcut technique through his careful handling of the thick, precise lines and his refined attention to form and space in the composition. In addition, like the German Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, he chose to work in the medium of the woodcut as a means of honoring and reviving a traditional form of German graphic art, which had been practiced since the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.On View
Not on view
