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The Exodus--1915 [L’exode – 1915]

Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen French, born Switzerland
1915
Not on view
Steinlen, who moved to Paris from Brussels in 1881, had a lifelong concern with the plight of the working class and marginalized populations. The subject of displaced people appears frequently in his wartime work. Between 1914 and 1915 nearly two hundred thousand refugees fled Belgium; this print, also called The March of the Orphans, depicts an exodus after a German attack. A stoic mother holding an infant leads a sea of children. Individualized subjects in the foreground give way to faceless figures in the background, which Steinlen suggests with quick, sweeping lines that blend into the vast horizon. The mother’s eyes fixate with strength and despondence on the distant unknown, while the children’s expressions remain ambiguous and unsure. The landscape behind them is suggestive of their displacement and migration from home.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Exodus--1915 [L’exode – 1915]
  • Artist: Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (French (born Switzerland), Lausanne 1859–1923 Paris)
  • Date: 1915
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Dimensions: Image: 18 7/8 × 16 1/8 in. (48 × 41 cm)
    Sheet: 25 11/16 × 19 13/16 in. (65.3 × 50.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Edward C. Moën, 1960
  • Object Number: 60.593.16
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Nude Asleep, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen French, born Switzerland, Charcoal with white chalk highlights on off-white laid paper mounted on Masonite
Nude Asleep
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen
early 20th century
Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome, Henri-Joseph Harpignies French, Pen and black ink, brush, gray and blue-gray washes
Saint Peter's Seen From the Pincio, Rome
Henri-Joseph Harpignies
1856
Snake Man, Alison Saar American, Color woodcut and lithograph
Snake Man
Alison Saar
Publisher Vinalhaven Press
1994
Dancer at a Café Concert, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen French, born Switzerland, Black ink over blue and black crayon with white lead used for correction and blue crayon and black ink border on off-white wove paper, darkened, mounted on board, and affixed to heavy board
Dancer at a Café Concert
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen
1892–93
Glass Horn, Glass, French
Glass Horn
French
19th century

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