From the beginning of his studies at the academy in Düsseldorf in 1904, August Macke had a close friendship with the sculptor Claus Cito from Luxembourg. They attended the evening class at the school for applied art together, and for a time even shared a studio in Düsseldorf-Oberkassel.
In 1906, both artists were commissioned to design the sets for a production of Aeschylus’ Oresteia at the city’s ambitious new Schauspielhaus (theatre). Unfortunately, this project never came to fruition, and all that remains of it is a small series of watercolours which Cito preserved all of his life following Macke’s premature death.
The sheet shown here, depicting the tomb of Agamemnon in front of the gates of his palace, is a striking example of August Macke’s ideas. Its eye-catching, undecorated architecture contrasts with the sombre group of cypresses, a symbol of death consciously borrowed from Arnold Böcklin.