Crusade
1984
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color woodcut on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 56.7 x 76.2 cm (22 5/16 x 30 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen in honor of the artist's 90th birthday
Accession Number
1999.82.23
Art Historical Context
Jacob Kainen’s 1984 color woodcut *Crusade* invites viewers into a striking interplay of form and hue. Created on wove paper and measuring roughly 22 by 30 inches, the print demonstrates the artist’s command of a medium that requires carving separate wood blocks for each color—an exacting, time-honored process that yields bold, graphic results while still allowing subtle tonal variations. The title *Crusade* suggests themes of journey, conflict, or conviction, yet Kainen renders these ideas through abstracted shapes rather than literal narrative. As a print, the work carries the democratic sp...
About the Artist
Jacob Kainen
Jacob Kainen was born on December 7, 1909, in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Russian immigrant parents who nurtured his cultural interests; his father was an inventor, and his mother instilled a love of music and literature. The family relocated to New York City in 1918, where Kainen immersed himself in art through newspaper clippings and visits to the Metropolitan Museum. After graduating from DeWitt...