Karl Schrag

Noon Sun through Clouds

1975

Old Houses in Amsterdam Drypoint, 1909 Signed and dedicated in pencil lower right. "A Mr. H. A. Webster, bien sympathiquement, T.F. Simon, Paris 26/10" Simon...

Signed lower right Edition: Undetermined, plus an artist's edition of 10 Edition: Undetermined, plus an artist's edition of 10 Published by the Associated American Artist ...

La butte de Montmartre et le Sacre-Couer (Sacre Coeur from a Distance) Lithograph, 1926 From Joseph Delteil's "Allo, Paris," published by Quatre Chemins, Paris, 1926 Rare signed proo...

Refinery Scene Lithgrah, c. 1930 Signed in pencil lower right. (see photo) Edition c. 14 Two impressions in the artist's estate. The other impression I sold to Dave and Reba Willia...

Night Life at the Moulin Rouge Pen and ink drawing, c. 1890 Signed lower left (see photo) A scene of the night life near the Moulin Rouge, Paris. The Moulin Rouge is the famous cabaret located in the old wind mill building in the right distance of this image. It was the center of fin de siecle culture in Paris. Condition: Slight yellowing to the sheet from age. Sight size: 9 x 5 3/4 inches Frame size: 14-1/8 x 10-3/4 x 1/2" Provenance: Eric G. Carlson (1940-2016), art historian and noted art dealer François Clément Sommier, best known under the pseudonym “Henry Somm,” was born in Rouen in 1844. He attended the local École municipale des beaux-arts and went on in 1867 to Paris, where he studied under Isidore Pils (1813-1875). “Somm is above all a painter and his watercolors are much sought after; he has the painter’s eye to the highest degree imaginable.” Louis Morin, Somm’s fellow artist revealed in 1893 that while his training as an academic painter forged his draughsmanship and an acute eye for colors, Somm preferred and excelled in the graphic realm. Particularly prolific, he produced a very extensive corpus of 7,500 drawings and prints, many of which were widely reproduced in journals and magazines. In 1867, Somm’s career reached a turning point with the discovery of Japanese culture through his friendship with French collector and critic Philippe Burty and a visit to the Paris International Exhibition. More generally, Japanese art and especially Japanese woodblock prints exerted a heavy influence on French artists at the time, and especially on the Impressionists, who were particularly inspired by the subject matter, as well as the innovative use of perspective, composition and color. Although technically not an Impressionist by pure definition, Somm’s interest in the effect of atmospheric light on shadow and color prompted Edgar Degas to invite him to participate in their 4th exhibition in 1879. However, Somm did not exhibit again with the Impressionists, and was never considered a member of the group. Rather, his work intersects between Impressionism, Symbolism and Japonism. In fact, while his drypoints and etchings reflect a more literal borrowing of Japanese elements than the work of Whistler or Monet, they also clearly anticipate the future work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Although Somm was 20 years older than Toulouse-Lautrec, both artists developed a friendship, as habitués of the Chat noir, a cabaret founded by Rodolphe Salis and located 84 boulevard de Rochechouart in Montmartre. More than a cabaret, the Chat noir also became an important gathering place for writers, poets, composers, musicians, and artists living in Montmartre. For Somm, a founding member of this artistic circle, it also served as a unique environment, where he could express his limitless imagination as active participant to the events – notably the literary soirées organized by the hydropathic group – and illustrator of the Chat noir journal. In 1886, Somm, in collaboration with Georges Auriol, initiated the Chat noir’s first puppet show, which subsequently evolved into shadow theater. Somm’s Japonism and sense of humor appealed to Toulouse-Lautrec, and this influence is echoed in Lautrec posters advertising two other Montmartre nightspots, namely Le Mirliton and Le Divan Japonais...

The Infant Christ and St. John Playing with the Lamb, after Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Woodcut, trimmed and tipped to support Initialed in the block bottom ...

ABOUT THIS PIECE: Julio Larraz is an expert draftsman, adroitly sketching his subjects and enlivening them with vibrant color. Larraz is recognized for his precise and detailed techn...

ABOUT THIS PIECE: "My photographs are a personal collection of moments that reveal my most genuine and beautiful depictions in the world around us. Preserving precious moments in ti...

Silkscreen, 2022 In collaboration with ArtStar and Marginal Editions H: 30.5” x W: 30” inches Limited Edition of 30 + 5 APs Hand-signed on recto $1,600 This is Zaria Forman’s first-...

ABOUT THIS PIECE: Blurring the lines between reality and abstraction Luca searches for rich textures, patiently waiting for the subtle moment when the soft lighting or harsh contrast...

ABOUT THIS PIECE: Blurring the lines between reality and abstraction Luca searches for rich textures, patiently waiting for the subtle moment when the soft lighting or harsh contrast...

ABOUT THIS PIECE: Blurring the lines between reality and abstraction Luca searches for rich textures, patiently waiting for the subtle moment when the soft lighting or harsh contrast...