Mikveh Israel Synagogue, project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ceiling sketch
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1965
A charcoal and graphite on tracing-paper ceiling study by Louis Kahn that tests geometric bays and the placement of lights for his Mikveh Israel Synagogue, trying to make structure and light generate a spiritual atmosphere.
You first see a ghostly, smudged cruciform of charcoal lines and dashed axes with a starburst motif and tiny pendant-light doodles at the margins, the torn edges and erased gestures making it feel like an intimate working thought.
The sheet reveals Kahn’s hand‑drawn method of using geometry and light as architectural instruments, a practice that helped redefine modern approaches to sacred space and influenced later monumental architecture.
Medium
Charcoal and graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
12 x 15 1/2" (30.5 x 39.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
392.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
