Rabbi
1920
Medium
linocut in black on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 6 x 5.1 cm (2 3/8 x 2 in.) sheet: 24.1 x 16.5 cm (9 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Jack and Margrit Vanderryn
Accession Number
1997.128.20
Art Historical Context
Max Weber's *Rabbi* (1920) is a striking linocut print, capturing the solemn figure of a Jewish cleric in bold black ink on wove paper. Measuring just 6 x 5.1 cm for the image itself, this intimate work exemplifies the precision and graphic power of linocut—a relief printing technique where the artist carves into linoleum to create raised surfaces for inking. Popular among early 20th-century modernists for its affordability and ability to produce crisp lines and high contrast, linocut allowed Weber to distill his subject into essential forms, evoking a sense of quiet dignity. Born in Russia a...
About the Artist
Max Weber
Max Weber (1881–1961), born in Białystok in the Russian Empire (now Poland) to Orthodox Jewish parents, immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, at age ten with his family, joining his tailor father.) There, he pursued art studies at the Pratt Institute under Arthur Wesley Dow, an innovative teacher who emphasized expression and form over traditional narrative, drawing from Japanese art and Paul Gauguin....