Houses at Unterach on the Attersee, Gustav Klimt An Aftermath collotype, 1931

1931

Original collotype lithograph of a well-dressed woman wearing a scarf around her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. This work was pubished from Gustav Kilmt’s handzeichnungen (sket...

Original collotype created from Gustav Klimt’s Approaching Thunderstorm (The Large Poplar II), painted in 1903. Published and edited by Verlag H.O. Miethke and printed by k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna, in an edition of 300. Between 1908 and 1914, H.O. Miethke published Das Werk Gustav Klimts, a folio of collotypes representing Gustav Klimt’s most notable works leading up to 1913. Klimt’s original oil paintings were painstakingly reproduced as collotypes on a handmade, deckled-edge cream wove paper using a complex gravure process overseen by master technicians as well as the artist himself. Each image presented in the folio was assigned its own unique signet, which was designed by Klimt and struck below the image using a technique similar to letterpress. The signet corresponded to a matching signet in the justification page which detailed the piece’s size, location, and owner. Published under the artist’s direct supervision, this series allowed Klimt, who had completely divorced himself from public commissions following the outcry from his University of Vienna paintings, to more effectively present his artworks to institutions and patrons across the world. A testament to the masterful design and printmaking demonstrated by Das Werk Gustav Klimts, Emperor Franz Joseph himself purchased the first copy of the folio. Klimt’s The Swamp...

DAS WERK GUSTAV KLIMTS, a portfolio of 50 prints, ten of which are multicolor collotypes on chine colle paper laid down on hand-made heavy cream wove paper with deckled edges; under each of the 50 prints is a gold signet intaglio printed on the cream paper each of which Klimt designed for the publication as unique and relating to its corresponding image; H.O. Miethke, Editor-Publisher; k.k. Hof-und Staatsdruckerei, Printer; printed in a limited edition of 300 numbered plus several presentation copies; Vienna, 1908-1914. The idea of collaboration in the arts is anything but new; however it has so often been viewed and assessed as somehow devaluing the intrinsic worth of art. It’s as if it was a dirty secret to be hidden away. More so even than the eroticism explored by Klimt, which divided public opinion, the artistic avant-garde began to boldly flaunt artistic collaboration beginning in the 19th century- which gained steam in the first part of the 20th century- to become a driving vehicle of contemporary artistic creation. Viewed in this context, the folios of collotype prints published by H.O. Miethke in Vienna between 1908-1914 known as Das Werk Gustav Klimts, are important art documents worthy of as much consideration for their bold stand they take on established ways of thinking about artistic collaboration as they are for their breathtakingly striking images. 1908 is indeed a watershed moment in the history of art. To coincide with the 60th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I, Kunstschau opened in Vienna in May of that year. It was there that Klimt delivered the inaugural speech. Speaking about the avant-garde group’s unifying philosophy of Gesamtkunstwerk, or the synthesis of the arts, Klimt shared his belief that the ideal means to bring artists and an audience together was via “work on major art projects.” It was at Kunstschau 1908 that Klimt first exhibited his most iconic painting, The Kiss, as well as The Sunflower, Water Snakes I and II and Danae. It was at Kunstschau 1908 that Das Werk Gustav Klimts was first available for purchase. Thanks to Galerie Miethke’s organization, Kunstschau 1908 was possible. Miethke’s pioneering art...

DAS WERK GUSTAV KLIMTS, a portfolio of 50 prints, ten of which are multicolor collotypes on chine colle paper laid down on hand-made heavy cream wove paper with deckled edges; under ...