Toy Bank 1935 - 1942

Hans Mangelsdorf created this drawing of a ‘Toy Bank’ with watercolor and graphite on paper. The composition presents a playful yet rigid structure. The lion, monkey, and tree are rendered with a focus on their geometric forms, with the artist creating a clear hierarchy through scale. The lion is dominant, anchoring the composition with its horizontal mass, while the smaller monkeys add a dynamic upward movement. Mangelsdorf uses colour to distinguish the objects – the golden lion, brown monkeys, and green and brown tree. These colors create a clear semiotic system: the gold might signify value, linking the toy to its function as a bank. The drawing’s materiality is evident in the visible graphite lines and watercolor washes, emphasizing the constructed nature of the image. The Toy Bank invites us to consider how the artist is not just representing an object but also encoding ideas about value, hierarchy, and the relationship between nature and culture.