Emil Faesch

Sketch of a head - Carved in stone -

1888

Heinrich Haberl (1869 Passau to 1934 Munich), Sturmhaube, c. 1900. drypoint, 14 x 10 cm (platemark), 28 x 21 cm (sheet size), 39 x 29 cm (passe-partout), titled "Sturmhaube" in lead at lower left and inscribed "Kaltnadelradierung", signed and locally inscribed "Heinrich Haberl Mchn. [Munich]" at lower right, inscribed again in lead on verso and with old collection stamp. - slightly darkened, fixed and mounted - The target in sight - About the artwork The theatrical "role-portrait" is to be seen against the background of the Rembrandt cult, which reached its climax at the end of the 19th century. The soldier seems to have stepped straight out of Rembrandt's Night Watch (1642) to fix something outside the picture with an alert and ready gaze. The steeply rising brim of the morion frames the gaze and thus perspectivises it as the actual 'pictorial action'. The gaze represents both the vigilant defence and the visionary goal of the battle. Not only the subject, but also the style of the etching needle reflect Rembrandt's understanding of the times. Strong contrasts of light and dark are created in a virtuoso free stroke, without losing the effect of the reflections on the helmet and in the eyes. This shows a kinship with the early prints of Lovis Corinth, who also saw himself as an artist in the role of the knight. Against this background, Haberl's picture can also be seen as a representation of his artistic self-image. About the artist Heinrich Haberl first attended the art school in Nuremberg and from 1892 studied at the Munich Academy. There he was a master student of Johann Leonhard von Raab, Rudolf von Seitz, Franz von Defregger...

Bruno Paul (1874 Seifhennersdorf - 1968 Berlin). Self-portrait, c. 1895. Pencil on paper, mounted on cardboard, 53.5 x 35 cm, signed 'Paul' at upper left. - Homo nudus - About the artwork In a mirrored situation, Bruno Paul looks at himself in the picture. While his body, which is the size of the format, is shown in profile parallel to the picture, he turns his head into the picture in order to become aware of himself there, whereby the lighter use...

Hermann Prell (1854 Leipzig - 1922 Dresden-Loschwitz). Half-length portrait of a Pharisee, 1885. Sketch for the right-hand figure in the painting Judas Iscariot, 1886. Pencil drawing heightened with opaque white and black chalk on beige-grey wove paper (papier vélin), 34 x 27.8 cm (visible size), 52 x 45 cm (mount), signed, dated and inscribed "H. PRELL 1885 zu 'Judas'". Minor browning, collection stamp on the reverse. - In the shadow of betrayal - About the artwork This painting is the sketch for the head of the Pharisee offering the coins to Judas in one of Herrmann Prell's major works, the painting Betrayal of Judas, completed in 1886. The painting belongs to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and is illustrated in Adolf Rosenberg: Prell, Bielefeld and Leipzig 1901, p. 21 (Fig. 19). It is especially highlighted in Thieme-Becker (vol. 27, p. 376). Hermann Prell, Betrayal of Judas, 1886 The monumental head, which fills the picture and is distinguished by its ornamented robe, is almost a lost profile, which in the executed painting is justified by the Pharisee's turning towards Judas. Despite the fact that the sitter withdraws from the viewer by turning away, it was necessary to artistically elaborate the motivation for the purchase of one of Christ's disciples, which is why the drawing focuses on the expression of the face, while the 'accessories' are treated in a more summary manner. In characterising the face, Hermann Prell performs a balancing act: since the Pharisee, despite his destructive actions, is an actor in the history of salvation, the head must show a dignity appropriate to the event, but at the same time the physiognomy must also bear witness to the scheming attitude that led to the betrayal. To solve this dilemma, Prell draws on the traditional depictions of the heads of the apostles, shading the face to indicate the obdurate darkness of the spirit and moving the base of the nose slightly upwards while the mouth falls away, thus giving a physiognomic expression to the motivation of the action. The fatal drama of the betrayal is expressed in the monumentalisation of the head and in the thunderous white highlights that contrast with the darkness of the chalk. As a study, considered by the artist to be a work in itself, this drawing reveals the pictorial problems and brainstorming of monumental painting. About the artist In 1872 Prell, who was one of the most important exponents of monumental painting of his time, began studying painting with Theodor Grosse at the Dresden Academy of Art and continued with Carl Gussow at the Berlin Academy in 1876. Hans von Marées taught him in Rome in 1878. More influential on his work, however, were Arnold Böcklin and Max Klinger, with whom Prell had been friends since his student days and with whom he worked together on several occasions. Prell's first major work, which established his reputation as a monumental painter, were the frescoes in the banqueting hall of the Architektenhaus in Berlin in 1881/82, commissioned by the state and depicting the different periods of architecture. Prell then went to Italy for two years to study fresco painting. Other major commissions followed. These included monumental frescoes in the town halls of Worms (1884), Hildesheim (1882-92), Gdansk (1895) and Dresden, the staircase of the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts in Breslau (1893/94), the throne room of the German Embassy in Rome (1896-99) and the staircase of the Albertinum in Dresden (1900-1904). From 1886 Prell taught at the academy of arts in Berlin and in 1892 he was appointed professor at the academy of arts in Dresden. His students included Osmar Schindler and Hans Unger...

Emil Wachter (1921 Neuburgweiser - 2012 Karlsruhe), Rebekka, 1987. Watercolor mounted on cardboard, 13.5 (height) x 14 cm (width). Signed “E.[mil] Wa[chter]” in pencil within the ima...

Title: Mid Century French Study Artist: Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) Medium: Pencil/ charcoal on artists paper Size: 19 (height) x 12.5 (width) Stamped: Verso Condition: Goo...

Man Head is an original monogramm drawing in pencil, realized by Russian scenographer Eugène Berman, hand-signed. Image Dimension: 35 x 25 cm Image Dimensions: 15 x 12 cm In very g...

Title: Mid Century French Male Bust Artist: Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) Medium: Pencil/ charcoal on artists paper Size: 19 (height) x 12.5 (width) Stamped: Verso Condition:...

This is an early 20th century pencil drawing of a classical bust. This drawing is presented in a hand carved vintage French cocoa inspired frame. This pencil drawing is an artist stu...