At the city wall of Laon 20 - 1916

Jakob Nussbaum made this pencil drawing, titled "At the city wall of Laon," in 1916. This work captures a moment in the French town of Laon during the First World War. The imposing city walls, a testament to centuries of conflict, loom in the foreground while figures stand silhouetted against the horizon. The scene speaks to the ever-present weight of history and the intrusion of modernity through an electric pole. Nussbaum's sketch offers a poignant meditation on the social conditions of his time. The war had a profound impact on the German art world. Artists grappled with questions of national identity and the role of art in times of conflict. Was art to serve the state, or could it offer a critical perspective? By examining archival materials, we can gain a richer understanding of this work as a product of its time. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.