Artwork
Entrance to the Stadium
Entrance to the Stadium is a drawing by Oskar Schlemmer. It dates from 1930 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Oskar Schlemmer made this drawing in 1930. It shows a clothed male and a naked female side by side. He used sharp lines on graph paper, so the bodies look almost like machines.
Schlemmer taught drawing at the Bauhaus. He liked to study how the body moves and works. That’s why the figures feel so precise here.
Look up Schlemmer, Oskar next.
Overview
Executed on graph paper, the composition is rendered with precise, angular lines that give the bodies a mechanical, almost engineered appearance.
Created in 1930, this drawing by Oskar Schlemmer presents a side‑by‑side pairing of a clothed male figure and a nude female figure. Executed on graph paper, the composition is rendered with precise, angular lines that give the bodies a mechanical, almost engineered appearance. The work reflects Schlemmer’s interest in the structural aspects of human movement, a theme central to his teaching at the Bauhaus.
Subject & Meaning
The juxtaposition of a dressed man and an undressed woman invites consideration of the body as both a social and anatomical entity. By stripping the female figure of clothing, Schlemmer emphasizes form and motion, while the male’s attire introduces a contrast between external identity and internal mechanics. The piece thus explores how clothing and nudity alter perception of the human machine.
Technique & Style
Schlemmer employed a strict grid of graph paper as the underlying framework, allowing him to align his lines with mathematical exactness. The drawing’s sharp, linear strokes reduce the figures to geometric components, echoing the rational, scientific approach championed at the Bauhaus. This method underscores the artist’s aim to depict the body as a system of interlocking parts rather than a purely organic whole.
History & Provenance
During his tenure as a drawing instructor at the Bauhaus (1919‑1933), Schlemmer produced works that embodied the school’s synthesis of art, craft, and technology. This 1930 drawing was created within that pedagogical context and exemplifies the curriculum’s focus on analytical study of human form. Its provenance remains linked to the Bauhaus archives, where it continues to serve as a reference for the institution’s experimental drawing practices.
Artist & collection
Artist
Oskar Schlemmer (German pronunciation: ; 4 September 1888 – 13 April 1943) was a German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the Bauhaus school.
