Lines in Vertical Area
1940
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
etching and aquatint on Normandy Vellum France wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 20.2 × 11.6 cm (7 15/16 × 4 9/16 in.) sheet: 24.5 × 17.7 cm (9 5/8 × 6 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1945.5.66
Art Historical Context
**Lines in Vertical Area** (1940) by Werneres is a striking abstract print that captures the modernist spirit of mid-20th-century American art. Created during a pivotal year marked by global turmoil, including the early stages of World War II, Drewes—an émigré from Germany who arrived in the U.S. in 1930—channeled his Bauhaus training into dynamic geometric compositions. This etching and aquatint on luxurious Normandy Vellum France wove paper exemplifies his mastery of printmaking, blending precise etched lines with the tonal richness of aquatint to evoke depth and movement within a compact ve...
About the Artist
Werner Drewes
Werner Drewes (1899–1985), born in the village of Canig, Germany, to Lutheran pastor Georg Drewes, demonstrated early artistic talent at Saldria Gymnasium, excelling in painting and woodblock printing. Drafted into the German army at eighteen, he served on the Western Front during World War I, finding solace in sketching amid the horrors of war. Postwar, Drewes pursued architecture at the Technisc...