Loneliness

Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack’s fascination with printmaking developed during his years at the Weimar Bauhaus (1919–25). There he worked closely with Paul Klee
to explore a new method of monotype called ‘Dürchdruckzeichnung’. By placing a piece of paper lightly on an inked sheet of glass and drawing with pressure on the back of the paper, the image appeared on the face of the sheet in soft ink lines. This technique, often used in conjunction with watercolour, was well suited to his rhythmic compositions, including this poignant work, Loneliness. 

Hirschfeld-Mack’s art was informed by theories of colour, music and light, as well as being shaped by his wartime experiences. He was a soldier in the German army during the First World War, in 1936 leaving Germany to escape Nazi oppression. After resettling in England, in 1940 he was deported as an ‘enemy alien’ to internment camps in Australia (in Hay, Orange and Tatura). He was eventually released in March 1942, thanks to the intervention of Geelong Grammar School.

Julie Robinson, Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs