Study
1919-1920
Medium
woodcut in black on laid paper
Dimensions
image: 8.3 x 3.2 cm (3 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.) sheet: 25.4 x 16.5 cm (10 x 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
1997.128.15
Art Historical Context
Max Weber's *Study* (1919-1920) is a delicate woodcut print in black ink on laid paper, capturing artist's modernist experimentation during a transformative period in American art. Born in Russia and later a key figure in New York's avant-garde scene, Weber drew from Cubism and Expressionism, blending geometric abstraction with emotional intensity. This intimate work, with its tiny image measuring just 8.3 x 3.2 cm on a larger 25.4 x 16.5 cm sheet, exemplifies his shift toward printmaking as a means to explore form and line with precision. Woodcuts, a relief printing technique where the artis...
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....