Pflanzbadgasse, Strasburg
1910
Medium
etching in black on wove paper
Dimensions
plate: 20.8 x 23.7 cm (8 3/16 x 9 5/16 in.) sheet: 25.7 x 32.8 cm (10 1/8 x 12 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Norma B. Marin
Accession Number
2005.98.182
Art Historical Context
John Marin's *Pflanzbadgasse, Strasburg* (1910) captures a quaint street scene in Strasbourg, a culturally rich city straddling French and German influences during a time of shifting European borders. Created during Marin's formative European travels (1905–1910), this etching reflects his early experimentation with modernist forms, bridging impressionistic observation and the abstracted energy that would define his later watercolors of urban America. As an American artist poised on the cusp of the modernist era, Marin drew inspiration from cities like Strasbourg, rendering everyday architectur...
About the Artist
John Marin
John Marin (1870-1953) was a pioneering American modernist known for his dynamic watercolors and oils of the Maine coast and New York City. A late bloomer who didn't commit to art until nearly 30, Marin developed a distinctive style combining European modernism with American subjects, capturing the energy of skyscrapers and the elemental power of the sea through fractured planes, vibrant color, an...