Christmas (Weihnacht) (plate, folio 36 verso) from the periodical Der Bildermann, vol. 1, no. 18 (Dec 1916)
August Gaul
German, 1869–1921
1916
A 1916 lithograph that places a bull and a donkey in a humble, stable-like arrangement, using animal portraiture to suggest the quiet intimacy of Christmas.
Bold, charcoal‑like strokes model the animals into hefty, sculptural forms—the bull’s steady, frontal gaze meeting you while the donkey’s turned hindquarters and the rough cross‑hatching of straw create a quietly domestic, slightly comic tableau.
Gaul, better known as a sculptor of animals, translates his concern for mass and form into print, helping to bring modern, earthy realism to animal imagery in early 20th‑century German graphic art and offering a subdued wartime reflection on a familiar religious scene.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 10 13/16 x 7 11/16" (27.4 x 19.6 cm); page: 14 x 11" (35.5 x 28 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Bertha M. Slattery
Accession
330.1952.70
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
![Untitled (Gathering of Animals) [Tierversammlung], illustration to Robert Walser's "Der Handelsmann" (headpiece, folio 49) from the periodical Der Bildermann, supplement to vol. 1, no. 6 (Jun 1916)](https://www.moma.org/media/W1siZiIsIjEzMzcwMyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcmVzaXplIDEwMjR4MTAyNFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg?sha=a5eff35b385dd228)
