Planetarium, 1926
Pastell crayon
(H x W)67 × 98 cm
Status
on display, room 020 About the workThis art work was created within the context of the "GeSoLei" exhibition and depicts the planetarium, now the Tonhalle concert hall, while still under construction. Symbolising the dawn of a new era, the monumental architecture takes on a visionary, almost dreamlike character thanks to the soft colours and delicate gradations of the pastel chalk. Richard Gessner, then a student at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, not only created a contemporary historical document of the architecture, but also an image that reflects the intellectual atmosphere of the Weimar Republic, in which a belief in progress and artistic utopias were closely linked.
AccessionAcquisition 1926
ProvenanceGesolei, Düsseldorf
Inventory number0.1926.5203