Bei Mariazell II (Near Mariazell II)

Max Pollak

This image is one of a series of prints Pollak did of winter in the Austrian Alps around 1920. To print this composition he collaged a sheet of thin white laid paper that would capture the delicate drypoint lines to a support sheet of cream wove that allowed the print to be handled.

He allowed the bottom two-thirds to be defined by the white paper and a few wispy drypoint lines in the foreground. At the top of the image are lines that define trees and snow-bound houses, set against a gray, aquatinted sky.

Mariazell is a small city in central Austria in the Austrian Alps, known for its winter sports, especially skiing. Now accessable by railways, it was founded in the 12th century by monks of St. Lambrecht’s Abbey and is a destination for Catholic pilgramages. Marialell currently has a population of around 4000 residents.