Das Ehepaar (The Married Couple)

Art Historical Context

**Das Ehepaar (The Married Couple)**, a poignant 1920 lithograph by Hoerle, captures the realities of post-World War I Germany. Hoerle, a key figure in the Cologne Progress (Gruppe Progress)—an avant-garde collective founded that same year—blended Expressionist distortion with emerging New Objectivity to portray everyday life amid social upheaval. Created during the Weimar Republic's early days, the work likely reflects the era's economic hardship, marital strains, and human resilience, themes central to the group's mission of confronting war's aftermath through unflinching realism. Printed on pale brown paper, this 59 × 46 cm lithograph exemplifies the medium's versatility for bold, reproducible social commentary. Lithography, a planographic technique allowing fluid lines and tonal subtlety, suited Hoerle's angular figures and muted palette, evoking a somber, earthy atmosphere that mirrors the period's disillusionment. As part of a portfolio classification, it was designed for wider dissemination, democratizing art beyond elite galleries. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's CG-W Department through a gift from the Collectors Committee, *Das Ehepaar* stands as a testament to Hoerle's brief but influential career, cut short by tuberculosis in 1936. Visitors will appreciate its raw emotional depth, inviting reflection on how art bridged personal stories and collective trauma in interwar Europe.

About the Artist

Heinrich Hoerle · 1885–1936

Heinrich Hoerle, born on September 1, 1895, in Cologne, Germany, emerged as a pivotal figure in the radical art scene of the Weimar Republic. He studied at the Cologne School of Arts and Crafts but was largely self-taught, honing his skills amid the turmoil of World War I. In 1919, he married fellow artist Angelika Hoerle (née Fick), with whom he plunged into Cologne's Dada movement, co-founding t...