Hadassah University Medical Center, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Perspectives
Erich Mendelsohn
American, born Germany (now Poland). 1887–1953
1936
Two quick graphite studies on copy paper in which architect Erich Mendelsohn tests massing, terraces, and sightlines for the Hadassah University Medical Center on Mount Scopus, exploring how a modernist complex could sit in a steep, layered landscape.
What strikes you is the energetic, gestural pencil—overlapping, rhythmic strokes that repeat angular building blocks and sweeping diagonal terraces across the page, anchored by tall verticals that give scale and movement to the hillside.
These sketches show Mendelsohn’s working method—using rapid, sequential views to translate modernist ideas into a sensitive response to a difficult site—and illustrate how 1930s European modernism was adapted to the particular topography and programmatic needs of Jerusalem.
Medium
Graphite on copy paper
Dimensions
Each: 8 1/2 x 5 3/8" (21.6 x 13.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Milton Scheingarten
Accession
89.2000.a-b
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
