Public Library, Stockholm, Sweden, Elevation of west facade
Erik Gunnar Asplund
Swedish, 1885–1940
Unknown
An ink-on-paper architectural elevation by Erik Gunnar Asplund showing his design for the west facade of Stockholm Public Library, intended to communicate the building’s monumental proportions and disciplined, classical ordering through precise measured drawing.
The sparse, symmetrical page is dominated by a broad, plain central block punctuated by a regular band of tall windows and flanked by lower pavilions with a central double stair, so that the crisp, finely ruled lines read as calm, monumental restraint.
The drawing documents a pivotal project in which Asplund translated Nordic Classicism into a stripped, rational monumentality that helped usher northern European architecture toward modernism and influenced civic design throughout the 20th century.
Medium
Ink on paper with paper backing
Dimensions
35 3/4 x 36 5/8" (90.8 x 93 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Marshall Cogan and purchase
Accession
46.1990
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
