Cleveland Museum of Art

At the Window II

Karl Hofer

Date

c. 1923

Medium

lithograph

Culture

Germany, 20th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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. 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.

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