# Pa. German Birth Certificate

**Albert Levone** (American)  
c. 1940  
watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paper  
overall: 36.9 x 43.8 cm (14 1/2 x 17 1/4 in.) Original IAD Object: Actual

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.8.3379. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.15584.html).

## About this work

Albert Levone painted this in about 1940. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

This is a painting of a colorful floral design with text. The artwork features stylized flowers in shades of red, green, and yellow scattered across the page. In the center, there is calligraphic text in varying boldness and fonts, likely in German. Two symmetrical bird-like figures with human faces and crowns are above the text. The piece combines imagery with artistic lettering in a style reminiscent of traditional Pennsylvania German fraktur. The artwork is bordered by a thin line, suggesting it's part of a larger artifact or document.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [Albert Levone](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/albert-levone)

American

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Real size: about 15 × 17 in (37 × 44 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 20th century
- Movement: [American folk and design](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/american-folk-design)
- Subjects: Flower, Cherub, fraktur
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1388.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1388/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/pa-german-birth-certificate-nga-15584).