Concert Hall Project, Dresden, Germany (Interior perspective of preliminary scheme)
Hans Poelzig
German, 1869–1936
1918
A colored-pencil and graphite sketch on tracing paper in which Hans Poelzig works out a preliminary interior perspective for a Dresden concert hall, imagining an enveloping, ribbed vault that organizes sightlines and sound.
You notice at once the dramatic, fern‑like cascade of sweeping ribs and staggered cross‑bracing—accented with red hatch marks—that reads like sound made visible and pulls the eye toward a small, distant stage space.
The drawing captures Expressionist architecture’s search for visceral, organic forms after World War I, testing how bold geometry and theatrical composition could shape acoustic experience and communal emotion in modern performance venues.
Medium
Colored pencil and graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
14 5/8 x 16 1/8" (37.1 x 41 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Henry G. Proskauer
Accession
1087.2009
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
