Seated Figure
1919-1920
Medium
woodcut in black on laid paper
Dimensions
image: 10.64 × 4.92 cm (4 3/16 × 1 15/16 in.) sheet: 25.72 × 16.51 cm (10 1/8 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Jack and Margrit Vanderryn
Accession Number
2015.114.11
Art Historical Context
**Seated Figure** by Max Weber, created between 1919 and 1920, captures the modernist spirit of the early 20th century. A Russian-born Jewish immigrant who became a key figure in York's avant-garde scene, Weber drew from Cubism and Expressionism, influenced by his encounters with artists like Picasso andisse. This intimate woodcut—measuring just 10.64 × 4.92 cm—depicts a simplified, angular human form, evoking introspection amid the post-World War I era's social upheavals and artistic experimentation. The woodcut, a relief printing method where the artist carves away negative space from a woo...
About the Artist
Max Weber
Max Weber (1881–1961), born in Białystok in the Russian Empire (now Poland) to Orthodox Jewish parents, immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, at age ten with his family, joining his tailor father.) There, he pursued art studies at the Pratt Institute under Arthur Wesley Dow, an innovative teacher who emphasized expression and form over traditional narrative, drawing from Japanese art and Paul Gauguin....