Mikveh Israel Synagogue, project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Plan and perspective sketches
Louis I. Kahn
American, born Estonia. 1901–1974
1965
Graphite on tracing paper sketches by Louis I. Kahn that explore the plan and vaulted interior of a proposed synagogue, aiming to transform archetypal, masonry forms into a modern sacred space.
What strikes you is the dialogue between a compact, annotated radial plan and a tall perspective of stacked arches—rendered in confident, economy of line—with a tiny human figure that gives the imagined stone volume a tangible scale.
The drawing reveals Kahn’s process of marrying primitive geometries and tactile detail to produce a renewed monumentality in modern religious architecture, a sensibility that helped shift late‑20th‑century design toward material presence and ritual spatial order.
Medium
Graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
18 1/8 x 30 1/2" (46 x 77.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the architect
Accession
393.1967
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
