Der Erwerbslose (The Unemployed Man)
1920
Medium
lithograph on pale brown paper
Dimensions
sheet: 59 × 46 cm (23 1/4 × 18 1/8 in.)
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Collectors Committee
Accession Number
2006.24.4
Art Historical Context
**Der ErwerbsloseThe Unemployed Man)**, a poignant 1920 lithograph by Heinricherle, captures the harsh of post-World War I Germany. Hoerle, a key figure in the Cologne Progressives (Gruppe Progress),-founded this Rhineland avant-garde group to confront social upheaval through stark, unflinching art. Created amid the Weimar Republic's economic turmoil—marked by hyperinflation, demobilization, and mass unemployment—this print reflects the era's widespread desperation, portraying an everyman stripped of dignity and purpose. Printed on pale brown paper, the lithograph's earthy tone evokes worn-ou...