Skip to main content

The Lord’s Prayer, sheet 7 – As We Forgive Them that Sin Against Us (Das Vaterunser – Wie wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern)

Max Pechstein

Artwork Details

The Lord’s Prayer, sheet 7 – As We Forgive Them that Sin Against Us (Das Vaterunser – Wie wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern)
1921
Max Pechstein
woodcut with hand-coloring on paper
23 ½ in x 16 ¼ in (59.69 cm x 41.28 cm)
Museum Purchase
1948/1.429

Description

Subject Matter:

Pechstein's "The Lord's Prayer" series of woodcuts mixes the text of the prayer with images of human wretchedness and spiritual need that draw on the Christian tradition to comment directly on the suffering and despair experienced by many Germans in the aftermath of the First World War and the economic crisis that followed.
This sheet depicts a scene of personal contrition and forgiveness.

Physical Description:

A male figure in profile seen at viewer's right rests his head on the shoulder of a woman. The figures grasp hands in the center of the composition; the female figure's proper left hand rests upon the neck of the male figure; both figures are dressed in dark clothes and illuiminated from behind by a bright white light; text runs along the uppermost edge of the composition, at the viewer's right mid-center, and along the bottom proper.

Usage Rights:

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.