Bismarck Monument, project, Bingen, Germany, Perspective view of courtyard
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American, born Germany. 1886–1969
1910
A large gouache perspective by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe proposing a monumental Bismarck memorial—a temple-like courtyard framed by colonnades intended to project civic grandeur through stripped-down classical forms.
What strikes you is the vast, marble‑paved plaza that funnels between two long, shadowed colonnades toward a distant, statue‑filled gateway under a brooding yellow‑blue sky, giving the scene a cinematic sense of scale and solemnity.
An early work in which Mies explores monumental classicism with rigorous geometry and simplified volumes, signaling his move toward the pared‑down spatial clarity that would define modern architecture.
Medium
Gouache on linen
Dimensions
55 1/2 x 94 1/2" (141 x 240 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Rob Beyer Purchase Fund, Edward Larrabee Barnes Purchase Fund, Marcel Breuer Purchase Fund, and Philip Johnson Purchase Fund
Accession
192.1998
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
