Die Stadt der Qual (The City of Agony) (headpiece, page 22) from Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: The Shadow of Life)

1924

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Associated Names
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Artist, German, 1880 - 1938

Georg Heym

Author, German, born Poland, 1887 - 1912

Spamersche Buchdruckerei, Leipzig

Printer

Kurt Wolff

Publisher, German, 1887 - 1963

The image shows an abstract composition with jagged and angular lines forming an urban scene. The shapes hint at buildings, figures, and possibly trees. Some shapes resemble human figures in dynamic postures. The geometric forms create a pattern resembling a crowded city or marketplace.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut from a bound volume with 50 woodcuts (including cover and front and back endpapers) on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    book: 23.8 × 16.5 × 1.2 cm (9 3/8 × 6 1/2 × 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.92.41.18

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Dube 1980, nos. 611, 759-807

Associated Artworks

See all 50 artworks
The image displays a stylized profile of a person with their upper body visible, including the head, neck, and part of the shoulders. The person is shown in a side view facing left, with their left hand raised as if adjusting their glasses on their nose. The facial features are abstract, depicted with exaggerated lines for the eyes, nose, and mouth. The hair is portrayed as a simple dark mass, suggesting short, slicked-back hair. The artwork utilizes a limited color palette of primarily green and yellow shades with bold black outlines. The background contains a stylized design or texture, with the text "Georg Heym Umbravitae" displayed prominently at the top.

Bucheinband (cover) from Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: Shadow of Life)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Georg Heym, Spamersche Buchdruckerei, Leipzig, Kurt Wolff

1924

This is a photograph of a book cover. The cover features a minimalist design with a centered title label on a plain background. The background is a muted green color that shows signs of wear and fading at the edges. The central label is a cream rectangle with bold black text. It reads "GEORG HEYM UMBRA VITAE" and mentions "MIT 47 ORIGINAL-HOLZSCHNITTEN VON ERNST LUDWIG KIRCHNER," followed by "KURT WOLFF VERLAG - MÜNCHEN." The cover conveys a vintage aesthetic, indicative of an era when typography and simple design played a central role in book presentation.

Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: The Shadow of Life)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Georg Heym, Spamersche Buchdruckerei, Leipzig, Kurt Wolff

1924

The image contains bold black lines on a reddish background, forming abstract shapes. On the left are abstract faces with distinct features. On the right are two simplified human shapes walking.

Vorsatz (front endpapers) from Georg Heym: Umbra Vitae (Georg Heym: Shadow of Life)

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Georg Heym, Spamersche Buchdruckerei, Leipzig, Kurt Wolff

1924

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Sotheby's New York, November 14, 1985, lot 67); Ruth Cole Kainen [1922-2009], Washington, D.C. (Lugt 4739); gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2014

  • Modern German Prints and Drawings from the Kainen Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014.

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