Werner Drewes
American, born Germany, 1899 - 1985Self-Portrait, 1971
Not on view
Woodcut on paper
Dimensions26 1/4 × 20 1/4 in.
Image: 18 1/2 × 11 1/4 in.
Gift of Mr. Jack B. Pierson in memory of Mr. Robert Martin Purcell, 1983.25
Werner Drewes’ work illustrates strong white and black contrasts, where the design is drawn on the plank surface of the wood and then deeply undercut. The part that is suppose to be white, is cut away with a gouge or knife (illustrated in the deeply incised lines), leaving the remainder to print black. Woodcut became popular in the 14th century for the printing of playing-cards and block-books.
Werner Drewes was born in Canig, Germany in 1899, the son of a minister. He became a student of architecture and design at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau. In 1923, he left Germany for Italy and Spain to study the Old Masters such as El Greco and Velasquez. He moved to the United States in 1930 and became an citizen in 1936. Drewes taught drawing at Columbia University, Brooklyn College, and Washington University in St. Louis. His work has been exhibited all over the world and is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum, both in New York City.
