Max Thalmann (1890-1944), Colonnade of Light, c.1920, woodcut, 9 13/16 x 7 1/4 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of Milton D. Heifetz, 1971.
Thalmann evokes the notion of communion in a series of prints of worshippers within dramatic cathedral interiors. His strong lines and contrast of deep pools of shadow with bold spaces of radiant light conveys the reverence and anticipatory sublime of a worship experience. The cathedral, with its Gothic-style archways, and hooded bowed forms moving silently, exude a timeless quality of devotion, where man—insignificant compared to the vast reaches of the cathedral space—is brought to feel the immensity of the divine.
