Markwippach

Markwippach — Lyonel Feininger. 1917.

Medium: oil on canvas. Dimensions: Framed: 94 x 114 x 6.4 cm (37 x 44 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.); Unframed: 80.6 x 101 cm (31 3/4 x 39 3/4 in.); Former: 94 x 114 x 5.5 cm (37 x 44 7/8 x 2 3/16 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

An American artist who spent much of his early career in Germany, Lyonel Feininger based this composition on sketches he made while hiking near the central German village of Markvippach, as it is properly spelled. Dominated by a church tower, the village’s skyline is rendered through angular, prismlike forms. Two years earlier in this region, the artist encountered his first peacock, describing the experience as “quite mystical—I shall never forget the impression.” Later in life, Feininger referred to Markwippach as his “peacock picture,” and its palette of bold blues, greens, and golds likely references the bird.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.