Eavesdropping

1919-1920

Walter Gramatté

Associated Names
Walter Gramatté

Artist, German, 1897 - 1929

This is a painting of abstract faces. The artwork features a collection of five abstract faces set against a dark background. Each face has sharp, angular features, prominent noses, and downturned eyes. The faces are arranged in a clustered formation, creating a sense of depth and overlapping, with three faces more prominent and two subtly integrated into the background. The contrast between the light ivory faces and the deep black space surrounding them enhances the emotional impact of the image.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    image: 40 × 31.5 cm (15 3/4 × 12 3/8 in.)
    sheet: 51.2 × 41.3 cm (20 3/16 × 16 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.92.232

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Eckhardt 1932, no. 25, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Jörg Maass Kunsthandel, Berlin); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased March 22, 1997; Gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1932

  • Eckhardt, Ferdinand. Das graphische Werk von Walter Gramatte. Zurich: Amalthea-Verlag, 1932: 25, only

Inscriptions

signed and dated below image, in graphite, at right: Gramatté / 20

Wikidata ID

Q76556418

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