Out My Window

1930

Hanns Kralik
German, 1900–1971

In 1925 art historian and museum director Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub organized an exhibition to chronicle contemporary painting in Germany called Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). The show’s name came to be synonymous with a cold, sober approach to subject matter coupled with precise brushwork. Artists working in this style produced hyperrealistic compositions that were infused with magical eeriness and sometimes included biting social critique.

The work of Hanns Kralik, who emerged in the late 1920s, exemplifies the style and ethos of New Objectivity. Tragically, the events of World War II cut his career short. Better known today for his anti-fascist pamphlets and publications, Kralik lost much of his early work at the hands of the German government. One of only a few extant paintings of Kralik, Out My Window remained with the artist until the end of his life.

Status: On View, Gallery 392
Department: Modern Art

Artist: Hanns Kralik
Title: Out My Window
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1930
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 67.4 × 55.4 cm (26 1/2 × 21 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior bequest of Mima de Manziarly Porter
Reference Number: 2016.71

Miriam Kienle and Matthew Drutt, Neue Sachlichkeit: New Objectivity in Weimar Germany, exh. cat. (New York: Ubu Gallery, 2004), 16 (color ill.).
Kristoffer Arvidsson, Johan Sjöström, Michael Azár, and Lena Johannseeon, Focus on Europe: New Objectivities 1919–1939, exh. cat. (Gothenburg: Gothberburg Art Museum, 2021), 8, 10, fig. 1 (color ill.), 264, cat. 4 (color ill.), 265.

New York, Ubu Gallery, Neue Sachlichkeit: New Objectivity in Weimar Germany, Sept. 21–Dec. 18, 2004, no cat. no., as Aus meinem Fenster (From my Window).
Gothenburg, Sweded, Gothenburg Art Museum, Focus on Europe: New Objectivities 1919–1939, June 12–Sept. 19, 2021, cat. 4.

The artist; by descent to his estate, 1971 [this and the following according to email from Hendrik Berinson, Dec. 16, 2015, photocopy in curatorial file]; Eric Brecher, Kiama, Australia, 2013; sold through Galerie Berinson, Berlin to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2016.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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