Rhapsody of Light

Carl Hoeckner

In "Rhapsody of Light," Carl Hoeckner depicts a swirling universe, an ethereal figure rising from a sea of clouds in the lower center with arms outstretched, as if to grab the comet-like sphere that bursts from a glittering solar system in the bottom left. This could be a depiction of an eclipse, lent a mythological air with the figure and arcing bands of light.

This dream-like lithograph, published by the Chicago chapter of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), is somewhat of a departure for Hoeckner, whose work often reflected a somber and sometimes apocalyptic view that many of his prints displayed. An adamant social realist, his work explored the terror of war and the inequities of concentrated power and the economy. However, in the mid-1930s Hoeckner created a series of celestial lithographs that embraced a more symbolic and gentle beauty, "Rhapsody of Light" among them.