The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 16, 2025
Portrait of a Woman (verso)
ca. 1914–1915
(German, 1884–1966)
Sheet: 80.6 x 50.8 cm (31 3/4 x 20 in.)
Location: Not on view
Description
Ludwig Meidner was not formally associated with an Expressionist group, but this scene of explosive light above a deserted street encapsulates the urban anxiety conveyed in the work of many of his contemporaries. The striking patterns of black and white drawn in ink are reminiscent of the cut surfaces of a woodcut. The back (verso) of the drawing features a lively portrait of a young woman. The artist once advised that in making a portrait one should “dig like a mole down into the mysterious deep of the pupils and into the white of the eye and don’t let your pen stop until the soul of that one opposite you is welded to yours in a covenant of pathos.”- D. Thomas Bergen, NY and London[Karl & Faber, Munich, 19-20 Oct. 1965, p. 188, no. 1572]; [Galerie Stangl, Munich (letter from Isolde Neumann of Karl & Faber in departmental file)]; D. Thomas Bergen, NY and London (exhibition catalog of his collection); [Christie's, London, 2 Dec. 1980, p. 23, no. 220 (xerox of catalogue in deparmental folder)]; [Margo Schab Inc., New York]
- Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).Ludwig Meidner. Mathildenhohe Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany (organizer) (September 15-December 1, 1991).
- {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Woman (verso)|url=false|author=Ludwig Meidner|year=ca. 1914–1915|access-date=16 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.14.b