Memorial to the Six Million Jewish Martyrs, project, New York City, New York, Perspective of central pier
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1968
A charcoal-and-graphite drawing on tracing paper in which Louis I. Kahn proposes a monumental, contemplative memorial for the six million Jewish victims, using architectural form to give a physical focus to collective remembrance.
You notice first the translucent, slightly yellowed tracing paper filled with delicate, repetitive pencil strokes that sketch a central pier and a grid-like wall—forms that read as both solid and ghostly, quietly lit from within.
The drawing exemplifies Kahn’s late language of monumentality and light, showing how architects can translate collective memory and absence into elemental, ritualized spaces and influencing later approaches to memorial design.
Medium
Charcoal and graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
44 1/2 x 66" (113 x 167.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase
Accession
3.1997
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
