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Death as a servant / - Concise congeniality -c. 1920
c. 1920
About the Item
Alfred Rethel after (1816 Diepenbenden - 1859 Düsseldorf), Death as a servant, around 1920. Color woodcut by Oskar Bangemann after a drawing by Rethel created around 1845 on handmade paper with watermark “HAHNEMÜHLE”, 30.5 cm x 27 cm (depiction), 42 cm x 36 cm (sheet size), signed “O.[skar] Bangemann SC.[ulpsit]” in the plate lower left and also inscribed “A.[lfred] Rethel” in the plate as a work by Rethel.
- Slight traces of creasing in the lower margin, otherwise in excellent condition with a strong impression.
- Concise congeniality -
Alfred Rethel's drawing, cut into wood by Oskar Bangemann, is in the Dresden Kupferstichkabinett. Even before Rethel struck the artistic nerve of his time with his own series of woodcuts, "Auch ein Totentanz" (1848), he had already explored the theme of the dance of death, studying in particular the graphic Dance of Death by Hans Holbein the Younger and its new edition by Nikolaus Daniel Chodowiecki. The master of the house, torn from life by death, is obviously an aristocratic ruler with a wig and ermine-trimmed coat, while the collapsed man is supported by a bourgeois with a fallen top hat. Death thus also illustrates a socio-political turning point in the context of an Italian Renaissance scene.
Oskar Bangemann, who was head of the woodcut class at the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts from 1924 to 1942 and taught at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, was a master of the woodcut technique. He transformed Rethel's pale pencil drawing into an expressive shade of red. The result is an "all-over" of lines reminiscent of Albrecht Dürer's woodcuts, from which the dramatic scene of sudden death emerges again and again.
About the artist
The talented Alfred Rethel began his studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1829 at the age of thirteen. His teachers, Heinrich Christoph Kolbe and Wilhelm Schadow, followed a classical Nazarene style, while Carl Friedrich Lessing, who also worked in Düsseldorf, introduced Rethel to history painting, which had a formative influence on him. In 1836 Rethel went to the Städelsche Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt, which was directed by Philipp Veit. In Frankfurt he received the prestigious commission to fresco the Kaisersaal of the Römer with portraits of rulers, and he also won the competition to paint the Coronation Hall of the Aachen City Hall with scenes from the life of Charlemagne.
After creating the illustrations for the "Nibelungenlied" (1840/41) and the watercolor cycle "Der Zug Hannibals über die Alpen" (1842-1844), Rethel traveled to Rome in 1844. There he studied the art of Raphael and associated with the "German Romans". Upon his return, he moved to Dresden and in 1847 began work on the Charlemagne frescoes for the Aachen City Hall. In 1848 Rethel created the woodcut series "Auch ein Totentanz" (Also a Dance of Death), which made him one of the most famous artists of his time. Demand was so great that the series was reprinted in an edition of 10,000 copies, which was unusual for the time.
From 1852 to 1853, Rethel was again in Italy, where his mental state became increasingly cloudy. The resulting illness led to his early death at the age of 43.
GERMAN VERSION
Alfred Rethel nach (1816 Diepenbenden - 1859 Düsseldorf), Der Tod als Diener, um 1920. Farbholzschnitt von Oskar Bangemann nach einer gegen 1845 entstandenen Zeichnung Rethels auf handgeschöpftem Papier mit Wasserzeichen „HAHNEMÜHLE“, 30,5 cm x 27 cm (Darstellung), 42 cm x 36 cm (Blattgröße), unten links mit „O.[skar] Bangemann SC.[ulpsit]“ in der Platte signiert und ebenfalls in der Platte mit „A.[lfred] Rethel“ als Werk Rethels ausgewiesen.
- Leichte Knickspuren im unteren Randbereich, ansonsten in ausgezeichnetem Zustand mit kräftigem Druckbild.
- Prägnante Kongenialität -
Die von Oskar Bangemann in Holz geschnittene Zeichnung Alfred Rethels befindet sich im Dresdener Kupferstichkabinett. Bereits bevor Rethel mit seiner eigenen Holzschnittfolge, „Auch ein Totentanz“ aus dem Jahre 1848, künstlerisch den Nerv der Zeit getroffen hat, hatte er sich mit der Totentanzthematik beschäftigt und insbesondere die druckgraphischen Totentänze von Hans Holbein d. J. und seine Neuauflage durch Nikolaus Daniel Chodowiecki studiert, wobei Rethel dem Sujet stets eine über den „Gleichmacher Tod“ hinausgehende politische Dimension verlieh. So ist der vom Tod aus dem Leben gerissene Herr des Hauses offenbar ein aristokratischer Herrscher mit Perücke und hermelinverbrämtem Mantel, während der Zusammengesunkene von einem bürgerlichen Mann mit hinabgefallenem Zylinder gestützt wird. Mit dem Tod wird also zugleich eine gesellschaftspolitische Wende im Rahmen einer Szenerie der italienischen Renaissance veranschaulicht.
Oskar Bangemann, der die Holzschnittklasse des Kunstgewerbemuseums Berlin leitete und von 1924 bis 1942 an der Berliner Hochschule für Bildende Künste lehrte, beherrschte die Technik des Holzschnitts auf meisterhafte Weise. Er setzt die blasse Bleistiftzeichnung Rethels in einen ausdrucksstaken Rotton um. Dadurch entsteht ein an die Holzschnitte Albrecht Dürers gemahnendes ‚all-over‘ an Lineaturen, aus denen die dramatische Szenerie des unvermittelten Todes immer wieder von Neuem hervorgeht.
zum Künstler
Bereits als Dreizehnjähriger nahm der talentierte Alfred Rethel 1829 das Studium an der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf auf. Seine Lehrer, Heinrich Christoph Kolbe und Wilhelm Schadow, folgten einem klassizistisch ausgerichteten Stil der Nazarener, während der ebenfalls in Düsseldorf tätige Carl Friedrich Lessing Rethel die ihn prägende Historienmalerei nahebrachte. 1836 ging Rethel an das von Philipp Veit geleitete Frankfurter Städelsche Kunstinstitut. In Frankfurt erhielt er den prestigeträchtigen Auftrag, den Kaisersaal des Römers mit Herrscherporträts zu freskieren, zudem gewann er den Wettbewerb für die Ausmalung des Krönungssaals des Aachener Rathauses mit Darstellungen aus dem Leben Karls des Großen.
Nachdem er die Illustrationen des „Nibelungenliedes“ (1840/41) und den Aquarellzyklus „Der Zug Hannibals über die Alpen“ (1842-1844) geschaffen hatte, reiste Rethel 1844 nach Rom. Dort studierte er die Kunst Raffaels und verkehrte im Kreis der „Deutschrömern“. Nach seiner Rückkehr zog er nach Dresden und begann 1847 mit der Ausführung der Karlsfresken für das Aachener Rathaus. 1848 schuf Rethel dann die Holzschnittfolge „Auch ein Totentanz“, die ihn zu einem der bekanntesten Künstler seiner Zeit werden ließ. Die Nachfrage war derart groß, dass ein Nachdruck in der für die damalige Zeit ungewöhnlichen Auflagenhöhe von 10.000 Exemplaren erfolgte.
Von 1852 bis 1853 weilte Rethel abermals in Italien, so sich sein Geisteszustand zusehends eintrübte. Die ausgebrochene Erkrankung führte zu seinem frühen Tod mit gerade einmal 43 Jahren.
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