"Bauen in Frankreich, Bauen in Eisen, Bauen in Eisenbeton" by Sigfried Giedion
László Moholy-Nagy
American, born Hungary. 1895–1946
1928
A 1928 letterpress book cover by László Moholy‑Nagy that combines a high‑contrast photograph of a towering construction crane with striking red and white typography to announce Sigfried Giedion’s essays on building in France, iron, and reinforced concrete, aiming to visualize the dynamism of modern construction.
At first glance the composition hits you with a diagonal, skeletal crane printed in stark black‑and‑white, its industrial lines sliced through by oversized red block letters that force a tense, energetic read across the image.
The design crystallizes Moholy‑Nagy’s pioneering integration of photography and typography—a touchstone of Bauhaus and modernist graphic practice that helped make photographic montage a primary language for communicating architecture and industrial modernity.
Medium
Letterpress
Dimensions
10 1/2 x 7 5/8" (26.7 x 19.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Jan Tschichold Collection, Gift of Philip Johnson
Accession
753.1999
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
