Georg Tappert

The Mother / - Violated Motherhood -

1918 (1964)

Wilhelm Gross (1883 Schlawe - 1974 Oranienburg-Eden), The Prophet, c. 1955. Woodcut on thin laid paper, 43 cm x 23 cm (depiction), 61 cm x 43 cm (sheet size), signed “Dr. Wilh.[elm] Gross” in pencil lower right, inscribed “Orig.[inal] Holzschnitt (Handabdruck)” lower left and inscribed “Aus der ”Ecce homo“ Folge” in the center. - The wide margin with traces of pressing due to the impression, the sitter's left foot with a small purple stain, otherwise in vibrant condition. - The Burden of the Prophet - The large-format woodcut shows a prophet figure that takes up almost the entire height of the sheet. However, instead of seeing something in the distance that is still hidden from our eyes - as is usual in depictions of prophets - the figure has raised his hands in a defensive gesture, as if the prophet is trying to ward off what he has seen. At the same time, however, the position of the arms is an acceptance of the inevitable, which only those who recognize what is to come will have to bear for the time being, which is why the figure in the painting - despite its size - appears almost solitary, alone and exposed to the burden of suffering. In a manner reminiscent of the folds of medieval wooden sculptures...

Walter Helbig (1878 Falkenstein - 1968 Ascona), Adoration of the Magi, 1918. Hand-colored linocut, 30 cm x 22.5 cm (depiction), 50 cm x 35 cm (sheet size), signed “W.[alter] Helbig” in pencil lower right, inscribed “Adoration of the Magi” lower left and dated “1918”. Below this a handwritten dedication “with heartfelt Christmas greetings”. - Paper somewhat darkened and with slight creases, thumbtack holes in the corners - The Rider of the Sun - The 'apocalypse' of World War I brought about a return to sacred art. Walter Helbig belonged to the circle of the 'Brücke' and the 'Blauer Reiter'. With his reinterpretation of religious themes in an expressionist formal language, Helbig shaped an avant-garde neo-sacred art. This is symbolically expressed in the silhouette of the rider against the sun-like yellow background. It refers to the awakening initiated by the Blue Riding, which is now linked back to the sacred. The rider and horse "look" at Mary and the Christ Child, who occupy the entire field. Opposite them are the three kings, the eldest of whom kneels before Christ and offers him a gold-filled casket. The expressionist lines give rise to a tower that rises into the "sun", so that the gift has become a Gothic church, expressing the hope that the fallen world will be resurrected in the name of Christ. This dimension of meaning is emphasized by the magical effect of the color scheme. About the artist In 1895, Walter Helbig began studying at the Dresden Academy of Art, where he became friends with the future Brücke artist Otto Müller, with whom he lived in Dresden from 1903 to 1905. While studying in Italy from 1897 to 1899, he met Arnold Böcklin and Adolf von Hildebrand. After completing his studies, he first worked for Otto Gussmann, painting churches. From 1905 to 1909 he worked as a freelance painter in Hamburg. In 1909, through the mediation of Otto Müller, Helbig made the acquaintance of artists from the 'Brücke'. In 1910 he exhibited at the founding exhibition of the Berlin 'Neue Sezession'. In the same year, he moved to Switzerland, where, together with Hans Arp and Oscar Lüthy, he founded the 'Moderne Bund' in Weggis, to which Cuno Amiet and Giovanni Giacometti also belonged. At the second exhibition of the 'Moderne Bund' in Zurich in 1911, Henri Matisse and Robert Delaunay were represented alongside artists from the 'Blauer Reiter'. In 1913, Helbig traveled to Paris with Arp and Lüthy. After the dissolution of the 'Moderne Bund', Helbig was represented at the first Dada exhibition in Zurich in 1914. In 1919, he joined the Berlin 'Novembergruppe'. After the devastation of World War I, Helbig turned increasingly to religious themes in his work. In 1924, like many other artists of his time, he moved to Ascona for financial reasons, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1938. There he founded the artists' association "The Great Bear", to which Marianne von Werefkin...

Johannes Heisig (*1953 Leipzig), "My treasure, my sanctuary" - To the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach. Lithograph on strong yellowish laid paper with watermark, 53 x 39.5...

Nehmer, Rudolf (1912-1983), Blessed are the merciful, 1948 Rudolf Nehmer (1912 Bobersberg - 1983 Dresden), Blessed are the merciful, 1948. Woodcut on yellowish wove paper, 18.8 cm x ...

ROBERT PHILIPPI (Austrian 1877-1959) LIEBESPAAR (LOVERS) ca.1923 (in Rifkind Collection, LACMA: From a portfolio of 10 prints. Rifkind indicates the e...

The Motherhood is an original lithograph on paper by Carlo Levi in 1960s Hand-signed on the lower right. Artist's proof. good conditions except for a lon...

Karl Michel, 'Ex Libris Dr. Witropp - Homunculus und Galatee', etching, 1923, edition not stated. Signed, dated, and numbered 'Op. 140' (the artist's inventory number) in pencil. Si...

Jansem, Jean. MOTHER AND CHILD. Lithograph, not dated. Artist's proof aside from an edition of likely 75 or 100. Inscibed "E.A." (Epreuve d'Artiste) and signed in pencil. In very goo...