Decorating Work, Switzerland
László Moholy-Nagy played a key role at the Bauhaus in both Weimar and Dessau from 1923 to 1928, and at the New Bauhaus (later the Institute of Design) in Chicago from 1937 until his death in 1946. Early in his career he was associated with Constructivism in Vienna and the Dada movement in Berlin. His major contribution to avant-garde photography was "the new vision" ("das neue Sehen"), in which he advocated a new approach to the medium, proposing the use of such techniques as the manipulation of light in cameraless photograms; negative prints, sharply angled points of view, and radical cropping in camera images; and the introduction of drawn elements, text, and mass-produced images in photomontages.
"Decorating Work, Switzerland," also referred to as "Disembodied House," shows the photographer's allegiance to several Constructivist principles, including a floating, unfixed perspective and its plastic configuration of space, such that a house painter, seen from below, becomes but one design element in a geometric composition. While the image is playful in the mode of Bauhaus student photographers, it poses an interesting question: Would Moholy-Nagy, who adhered to the stripped-down industrial style of the Bauhaus, have taken the photograph a day or two later, when the quaint painted decoration of the windows had been completed?
"Decorating Work, Switzerland," also referred to as "Disembodied House," shows the photographer's allegiance to several Constructivist principles, including a floating, unfixed perspective and its plastic configuration of space, such that a house painter, seen from below, becomes but one design element in a geometric composition. While the image is playful in the mode of Bauhaus student photographers, it poses an interesting question: Would Moholy-Nagy, who adhered to the stripped-down industrial style of the Bauhaus, have taken the photograph a day or two later, when the quaint painted decoration of the windows had been completed?
Artwork Details
- Title: Decorating Work, Switzerland
- Artist: László Moholy-Nagy (American (born Hungary), Borsod 1895–1946 Chicago, Illinois)
- Date: 1925
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: Image: 50.6 x 40.2 cm (19 15/16 x 15 13/16 in. )
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Robert Rosenkranz Gift, 2005
- Object Number: 2005.100.152
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
László Moholy-Nagy
1924–28
László Moholy-Nagy
1920s
László Moholy-Nagy
ca. 1920
László Moholy-Nagy
1930
László Moholy-Nagy
ca. 1930
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.