The Completion of Washington, D.C. Project, Washington, D.C., Perspective
Leon Krier
Luxembourger, born 1946
1984
A speculative architectural perspective in ink and graphite on tracing paper that imagines a dramatically completed, classically ordered Washington, D.C., dominated by soaring obelisks and monumental civic buildings.
What strikes you is the lone, sky‑piercing central obelisk set amid a measured row of domes, colonnades, and smaller obelisks, rendered in a spare, confident ink line with reflected marks in the water and a small pencil sketch and handwritten dedication in the corners.
The drawing encapsulates Leon Krier’s critique of modernist planning and his advocacy for a return to classical urban form and monumentality, a vision that helped shape debates in New Urbanism and postmodern architectural thought.
Medium
Ink and graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
8 1/4 x w. 11 1/4" (21 x 28.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect in honor of Lily Auchincloss
Accession
383.1994
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
