Staircase Ursuliner Lyzeum, Cologne 1928 Possibly 1928 - 1977

Curator: This is Werner Mantz’s "Staircase Ursuliner Lyzeum, Cologne 1928," currently held in the Tate Collections. Editor: The composition is immediately striking; a vortex of receding rectangular forms, almost hypnotic in its stark geometry. Curator: Indeed. It captures the essence of institutional architecture, the Ursuliner Lyzeum being a girls' school. Stairs here are not merely functional but a potent symbol of ascent, of education and social mobility. Editor: And yet the black and white tonality flattens the space, creating a sense of detachment. It almost feels like a diagram rather than a lived environment. The gaze is pulled inexorably into the infinite center. Curator: Perhaps that's Mantz’s intention—to show how spaces mold our perceptions and even our ambitions. Think of the associations of enclosed spaces with a girl's education at that time, and how charged this simple image becomes. Editor: Ultimately, Mantz crafts a visual puzzle, where space, light, and form converge to create an enduringly unsettling image. Curator: A perspective, I’d add, pregnant with the weight of history and social expectations.