Joseph Pennell's Pictures of the Wonder of Work / Reproductions of a Series of Drawings, Etchings, and Lithographs, Made by Him about the World, 1881-1915, with Impressions and Notes by the Artist

Chapter 52: LI POWER-HOUSE, BERLIN, GERMANY

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About This Book

An illustrated collection of drawings, etchings, and lithographs made worldwide between 1881 and 1915, accompanied by the artist's impressions and descriptive notes. The introductory essay argues for treating industrial and manual labor as a legitimate pictorial subject, surveying earlier artists who found beauty in mills, harbors, and urban works. The plates reproduce scenes of engineering, construction, maritime and urban labor, with captions and commentary that emphasize technique, composition, and the human element in work. The volume balances visual reproductions with reflective commentary on the aesthetics of labor and the practical processes behind the subjects depicted.

LI POWER-HOUSE, BERLIN, GERMANY

I always love these power-houses with their huge chimneys, but it is rare indeed that they compose so well as this. But many other industrial palaces in Berlin are fine: the General Electric Company's works, its dynamo building shops, and the city gasometers which have been made into modern work castles of the most enormous bulk; and the much-written-about flower-covered buildings of the work people. All these make up the Wonder of Work in Berlin.