“The White Man” is an oil painting created by Lyonel Feininger in 1907. This work, belonging to the Expressionism art movement, is a genre painting with dimensions of 68 x 52 centimeters. The artwork is housed in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain.
In the artwork, a tall, exaggeratedly elongated figure of a man, dressed in white with a distinct hat and pipe, dominates the composition against an urban backdrop. The figure’s elongated limbs and surreal proportions are characteristic of Feininger’s style. The background features architectural elements with a prominent building, tinted in hues of orange and blue, creating a contrast with the man’s pale complexion. The scene, rendered in bold, expressive brushstrokes, encapsulates a dreamlike, almost whimsical quality typical of Expressionism. The juxtaposition of the towering figure against the more traditionally proportioned background elements suggests a narrative, possibly alluding to themes of alienation or prominence within a societal context.
