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Cleveland Museum of Art

Spotted

Karl Hofer — At the Window II
Karl Hofer

At the Window II

1918

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.

Medium
lithograph

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Spotted works by Karl Hofer

About this work

Karl Hofer, At the Window II, 1918

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.

Medium
lithograph
Year
1918
Seen at
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Related themes

Print, Modern

More works by Karl Hofer

Collected by

Cleveland Museum of Art