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Gelmeroda III
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? DACS 2004

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Gelmeroda III 1913
Feininger first drew the church at Gelmeroda, a small village near Weimar, in 1906. It became a recurrent motif in his work, featuring in numerous drawings and prints and in thirteen oil paintings ranging in date from 1913 to 1936. Although the church carried a symbolic meaning in Feininger's work, its architectural form also provided the ideal motif for the artist's interest in geometric compositions. This is the third of three Gelmeroda paintings, also dating from 1913. It is a more balanced composition than the first two paintings, which feature a leaning spire cut by sharp Cubist planes.

Glossary Open

Composition

The arrangement of different elements in a work of art.

Cubism

A style of painting originated by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the first two decades of the 20th century. Instead of painting a figure or object from a fixed position they represented it from multiple viewpoints.

Motif

A distinctive element in a work of art or design.

Print

An image pressed or stamped onto paper or fabric. This encompasses a wide variety of techniques, usually produced in multiples, although one-off prints, known as monoprints, are also included. The term is also applied to photographic images.

Symbolism

The representation of subjects or ideas by use of a device or motif to create underlying meaning. A literary and artistic movement that originated in France and spread through much of Europe in the late 19th century. There was no consistent style but rather an appeal to the idea of the artist as mystic or visionary and the desire to express a world beyond superficial appearances.

Composition, Cubism , Motif, Print, Symbolism

Details

  • Acc. No. GMA 2951
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Size 100.50 x 80.00 cm
  • Credit Purchased 1985

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