Artwork Page for At the Window II

Details / Information for At the Window II

At the Window II

c. 1923

Karl Hofer

(German, 1878–1955)
Culture
Germany, 20th century
Medium
lithograph
Measurements
Image: 20.2 x 14.3 cm (7 15/16 x 5 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1931.269
Catalogue raisonné
Rathenau 25
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Just over a decade after this print was made, Karl Hofer was labeled a "Degenerate Artist" by the National Socialists and his works were removed from German museums.

Description

Windows appear frequently throughout the work of Karl Hofer, who created nearly 300 prints. Dating from a period that Hofer spent in his native Germany between the First and Second World Wars, this lithograph reflects the anxiety and chaos that characterized the country during that time. Figures with masklike faces crowd the space of an interior without interacting. It remains unclear whether they block the view to the outside world that the window would otherwise provide or are instead viewed from a building’s exterior. Enhanced by the jagged, sketchy lines used to render the figures, the composition conveys a sense of alienation and unease.
A vertically oriented black ink lithograph on light paper depicts four figures huddled within a dark, scribbled rectangular border. In the center foreground, a large-eyed figure looks down toward our left. Above them to our left, another person rests with closed eyes. A third face peers from behind the central figure, while a fourth is tilted sideways on our right. Thick, expressive lines and heavy black shading create a rough texture throughout.

At the Window II

c. 1923

Karl Hofer

(German, 1878–1955)
Germany, 20th century

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