Here we explore Julia and Lyonel Feininger's stay in the Harz Mountains in 1917. In a rare pairing, we've brought together recently discovered drawings by Julia (1880–1970) with drawings by Lyonel (1871–1956) to showcase both the resonances and distinctions between the artists’ styles and their responses to this unique landscape.

Lyonel Feininger (1871&ndash;1956)

(Landscape with Bridge, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.6 x 16.5 cm)
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Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Landscape with Bridge, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.6 x 16.5 cm)

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During World War I, Lyonel endured strict restrictions, including house arrest in Berlin, because of his American citizenship. In the summer of 1917, Lyonel and his family were granted a rare reprieve to visit the town of Braunlage in the Harz Mountains. The area’s dramatic peaks and dense fir forests proved to be fertile creative catalysts for both him and Julia.

Julia Feininger (1880&ndash;1970)

(Bridge in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Ink on paper

12 1/8 x 9 1/8 in. (30.8 x 23 cm)

Signed and dated lower right:&nbsp;Regninief. Mar 1917.

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Bridge in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Ink on paper

12 1/8 x 9 1/8 in. (30.8 x 23 cm)

Signed and dated lower right: Regninief. Mar 1917.

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For Julia, the landscape inspired a return to art. Formally trained in Berlin, Weimar, and Paris, she had largely set aside her professional career after the birth of her and Lyonel’s first child in 1906. Her Harz drawings reveal a confident, fluid hand and a style informed by Art Nouveau and Expressionism. Often signed with her pseudonym, “Regninief” (Feininger spelled backward), her works turn the landscape into an atmospheric setting for her fairy-tale-inspired compositions.

By contrast, Lyonel’s drawings show austere, unpopulated vistas. Through subtle lines and Cubist forms, he stayed truer to nature than Julia. What the couple shared in their work was a mastery of shading, a striking, prismatic rendering of the landscape, and an admiration of the place that comes through in their images.

Images

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Houses in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
6 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. (16.5 x 20.6 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 24 VII 17

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(House in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.6 x 16.5 cm)
Dated lower left: 16 VII 17

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Houses in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
6 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. (16.5 x 20.6 cm)
Dated lower left: 18 VII 17

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Woman and Man Looking at Each Other), 1917

Ink on paper

12 x 9 in. (30.4 x 22.8 cm)

Signed and dated lower right: Regninief Juni 1917

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Man and Woman Under Sun surrounded by Trees), 1917

Ink on paper

12 x 9 1/8 in. (30.4 x 23 cm)

Signed and dated lower right: Regninief Nov. 1917.

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Man and Woman Under Rays of Sunshine in Mountainous Landscape with Fir Trees), 1917

Ink on paper

12 3/16 x 9 1/8 in. (31 x 23 cm)

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Fir Trees, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.6 x 16.5 cm)

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Fir Trees, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on paper
8 x 6 1/4 in. (20.3 x 15.9 cm)
Signed lower right: Feininger

Dated lower left: 24. VII. 17

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on paper
8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.6 x 16.5 cm)
Dated lower right: 12 VII 17

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Bridge in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Ink on paper

12 1/8 x 9 1/8 in. (30.8 x 23 cm)

Signed and dated lower right: Regninief. Mar 1917.

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Landscape with Bridge, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
8 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (20.6 x 16.5 cm)

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Hilly Landscape with Trees Under Rays of Sunlight), 1917

Ink on paper

11 13/16 x 9 5/16 in. (30 x 23.5 cm)

Dated lower right: Mai 1917

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Fir Trees, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on paper
6 3/4 x 3 7/8 in. (17.1 x 9.8 cm)
Dated lower left: 20 VII 17

Julia Feininger (1880–1970)

(Two Women Looking Upwards in Fir Tree Scenery), 1917

Ink on paper

12 1/8 x 9 1/8 in. (30.8 x 23.2 cm)

Signed and dated lower right: Regninief. Mai. 1917.

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Fir Trees, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on paper
6 3/4 x 3 7/8 in. (17.1 x 9.8 cm)
Dated upper left: 20 VII 17

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Edge of the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
6 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. (16.5 x 20.6 cm)

Dated lower center: 14 VII 17

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Houses in the Woods, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on graph paper
6 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. (16.5 x 20.6 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: Feininger 24 VII 17

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)

(Landscape, Harz Mountains), 1917

Pencil on paper
6 1/4 x 8 1/8 in. (15.9 x 20.6 cm)

Julia and Lyonel Feininger in the Harz Mountains - Viewing Room - Moeller Fine Art

Viewing Room

DISCOVERY OF AN ARTIST: JULIA FEININGER (1880–1970)

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