City 1920

Otto Lange made this etching titled 'City', and it offers a window into the socio-political landscape of early 20th-century Germany. Lange, part of a generation deeply affected by industrialization and urbanization, presents us with a stark, linear vision of the modern metropolis. In 'City', the contrast between the natural and the industrial is palpable. Windmills stand alongside belching smokestacks, symbolizing a society caught between its agrarian past and its industrialized future. The stark black and white palette adds to the sense of tension and unease, mirroring the anxieties of a rapidly changing world. As an artist living through the Weimar Republic, Lange would have witnessed firsthand the social and economic upheaval that followed World War I. This work can be viewed as a commentary on the human condition amid progress, reflecting both the promise and the peril inherent in modernity. What emotions does this urban landscape evoke in you?