09/09/2026
Carl Grossberg was educated at the Bauhaus, and developed an interest in depicting architecture. What you can see here is Marktbreit, a small city in Bavaria surrounded by hills. The telephone pole bisects the painting, directing our gaze upwards toward the two towers and the mountains in the distance. The picture is balanced with such mathematical precision that it feels artificial – an arrangement of shapes and pleasing colors. There is no atmosphere. The town is empty, void of people, of life. It looks a little bit like a model. Is this really an old town?
This work was featured in the special exhibition “Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity,” which was on view at Neue Galerie New York from February 20 through May 26, 2025.
Learn more at
neuegalerie.org/neuesachlichkeit
________
Carl Grossberg, “Marktbreit (Marktbreit am Main, Bavaria),” 1931, oil on canvas . Merrill C. Berman Collection