Requiem 1963

Misch Kohn made this lithograph, ‘Requiem,’ sometime in the mid-twentieth century. The artist’s dense layering of images and words evokes the weight of history, philosophy, and politics on the human condition. We see fragments of names like Plato, Marx, Kant, and Hegel interwoven with abstract shapes, perhaps suggesting how intellectual traditions both form and burden us. Kohn was deeply affected by the Holocaust and post-war anxieties. His work often reflects on themes of social justice, human suffering, and the search for meaning in a fractured world. The printmaking process itself, with its possibilities for reproduction and dissemination, makes the work particularly relevant. Kohn's lithograph questions the role of the artist in bearing witness to historical trauma. To understand this piece fully, we must look to the archives of twentieth-century art and political history, examining how artists responded to the pressing social issues of their time. In this way, ‘Requiem’ becomes a testament to art's enduring power as social commentary.