Composition V - Large and Small Circle
1934
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
woodcut
Dimensions
sheet: 42.9 × 31.1 cm (16 7/8 × 12 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Reba and Dave Williams Collection, Gift of Reba and Dave Williams
Accession Number
2008.115.1540
Art Historical Context
**Composition V - Large Small Circle** (1934) is a striking woodcut by Werner Drewes, German-born artist who brought European modernism to America after emigrating in 1930. Fresh from influences like the Bauhaus and artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Drewes championed geometric abstraction during a time when American art was shifting toward bold experimentation amid the Great Depression. This print, measuring 42.9 × 31.1 cm, his fascination with pure form, rhythm, and spatial dynamics through interlocking circles that evoke movement and harmony. As a woodcut—a relief printing technique where ...
About the Artist
Werner Drewes
Werner Drewes (1899–1985), born in the village of Canig, Germany, to Lutheran pastor Georg Drewes, demonstrated early artistic talent at Saldria Gymnasium, excelling in painting and woodblock printing. Drafted into the German army at eighteen, he served on the Western Front during World War I, finding solace in sketching amid the horrors of war. Postwar, Drewes pursued architecture at the Technisc...