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Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

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Period: Early 20th Century
Composition, Vers un monde volage, Marcel Gromaire
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Etching on vélin d'Arches paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good condition. Published by Éditions Marcel Seheur, Paris; printed by Atelier d'art Paul Haasen, Paris, Septembe...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Die Rodelhexe"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino poster...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Lo Hesse"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Ballet und Pantomime "Der Tanzende Gott" (The Dancing God), plate #14.
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell o...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Erich Heckel German Expressionist Woodblock Print, 1919 "Dostoevski's Idiot"
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Erich Heckel (1883-1970) Original Woodblock print, 1919. “Dostoevski's Idiot (Final Scene)” Unframed and in excellent condition. Image size: 9 3/4" H x 11 1/2" W. In a 16" H x 20" ...
Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Pierrot avec Parapluie, Surrealist Etching by Marc Chagall
Located in Long Island City, NY
Marc Chagall, Russian (1887 - 1985) - Pierrot avec Parapluie, Year: 1927, Medium: Etching and Aquatint on Richard de Bas, Image Size: 14.25 x 11.5 inches, Size: 22 x 16 in. (55.88 ...
Category

Surrealist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Il ne Faut pas Oublier
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Jean-Louis Forain (French, 1852-1931) Title: Il ne Faut pas Oublier Year: 1918 Medium: Lithograph Edition: Numbered 266/300 in pencil Paper: Wove Size paper: 15 x 22....
Category

Impressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

German Israeli Judaica Havdalah Scene Jewish Shabbat Closing Ceremony
Located in Surfside, FL
Genre: Judaica Subject: People Medium: Print Surface: Paper size: 13.5 X 10.5, 17.5 X 13.75 with mat. on the Haifa Museum website this piece is described as a vernis-mou, aquatint et...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

"The Disappointed" Copper Plate Heliogravure
Located in Chicago, IL
2018 marks the centenary anniversary of Ferdinand Hodler’s death. In that 100 years time, the art world’s esteem of this important artist has proved fickle. It has shifted from extolling his artistic merits during his lifetime to showing something of a feigned disdain- more reflective of the world political order than a true change of heart for Hodler’s work. After years of Hodler being all but a footnote in the annals of art history and generally ignored, finally, the pendulum has righted itself once again. Recent retrospective exhibitions in Europe and the United States have indicated not only a joyful rediscovery of Hodler’s art but a firm conviction that his work and world view hold particular relevance today. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS is not only a collection of printed work reflecting the best of all of his painted work created up to 1914 just before the outbreak of World War I, the portfolio itself is an encapsulation of Hodler’s ethos, Parallelisme. Hodler developed his philosophy of Parallelisme as a unifying approach to art which strips away detail in search of harmony. By means of abstraction, symmetry and repetition, Hodler sought ways to depict Nature’s essence and her fundamental, universal order. He believed these universal laws governing the natural, observable world extend to the spiritual realm. Symbolist in nature with Romantic undertones, his works are equally portraits of these universal concepts and feelings governing all life as they are a visual portrait in the formal sense. Whether his subject is a solitary tree, a moment in battle, mortal fear, despair, the awe inspired by a vast mountain range, a tender moment or even the collective conviction in a belief, Hodler unveils this guiding principle of Parallelisme. Several aspects of Hodler’s portfolio reinforce his tenets of Parallelisme. The Table of Contents clearly preferences a harmonious design over detail. The two columns, consisting of twenty lines each, list the images by order of appearance using their German titles. The abbreviated titles are somewhat cryptic in that they obscure the identities of the sitters. Like the image Hodler presents, they are distillations of the sitter without any extraneous details. This shortening was also done in an effort to maintain a harmonious symmetry of the Table of Contents, themselves, and keep titles to a one-line limit. The twenty-fourth title: “Bildnis des Schweizerischen Gesandten C.” was so long, even with abbreviation, that it required two lines; so, for the sake of maintaining symmetry, the fortieth title: “Bauernmadchen” was omitted from the list. This explains why the images are not numbered. Hodler’s reasoning is not purely esoteric. Symmetry and pattern reach beyond mere formal design principles. Finding sameness and imposing it over disorder goes to the root of Hodler’s identity and his art. A Swiss native, Hodler was bi-lingual and spoke German and French. Each printed image, even number forty, have titles in both of Hodler’s languages. Certainly, there was a market for Hodler’s work among francophones and this inclusion may have been a polite gesture to that end; however, this is the only place in the portfolio which includes French. With German titles at the lower left of each image, Hodler’s name at bottom center and corresponding French titles at the lower right of each image, there is a harmony and symmetry woven into all aspects of the portfolio. This holds true for the page design, as it applies to each printed image and as it describes the Swiss artist himself. Seen in this light, Hodler’s portfolio of printed work is the epitome of Hodler’s Parallelisme. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS is also one of the most significant documents to best tell the story of how Hodler, from Switzerland, became caught between political cross-hairs and how the changing tides of nations directly impacted the artist during his lifetime as well as the accessibility of his art for generations to come. The Munich-based publisher of the portfolio, R. Piper & Co., Verlag, plays a crucial role in this story. Publishing on a wide range of subjects from philosophy and world religion to music, literature and the visual arts; the publisher’s breadth of inquiry within any one genre was equal in scope. Their marketing strategy to publish multiple works on Hodler offers great insight as to what a hot commodity Hodler was at that time. R.Piper & Co.’s Almanach, which they published in 1914 in commemoration of their first ten years in business, clearly illustrates the rapid succession- strategically calculated for achieving the deepest and broadest impact - in which they released three works on Hodler to hit the market by the close of 1914. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS was their premier publication. It preceded C.A. Loosli’s Die Zeichnungen Ferdinand Hodlers, a print portfolio after 50 drawings by Hodler which was released in Autumn of 1914 at the mid-level price-point of 75-150 Marks; and a third less expensive collection of prints after original works by Hodler, which had not been included in either of the first two portfolios, was released at the end of that year entitled Ferdinand Hodler by Dr. Ewald Bender. The title and timing of DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS' debut leaves little doubt as to the connection it has with another avant-garde portfolio of art...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Klimt, Bauernhaus mit Birken, Das Werk von Gustav Klimt (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Héliogravure, collotype vélin paper. Paper Size: 18.23 x 17.32 inches; image size: 11.69 x 11.77 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the f...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Profile Bust of a Girl - Woman's Head in Profile (Havard)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Profile Bust of a Girl - Woman's Head in Profile (Havard) Drypoint, 1920 Unsigned (as issued) From: The Drypoints of Elie Nadelman, 21 unpublished prints by the sculptor, proof from ...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint

A Hot Finish
By Rus Daniels
Located in Paonia, CO
A Hot Finish is a fun, bold and colorful caricature of the racing scene in the early 1900’s. As the winning horse and his jockey are racing to the finish...
Category

Other Art Style Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

"La Promanade" Black and White Print of a Women in a Carriage Edition
Located in Houston, TX
Black and white print of an upper class women in a carriage. There are other figures in the back riding in a carriage as well. Edition 17 of 58. Painting is signed by the artist and ...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Engraving

Ballet und Pantomime "Primula Vera", plate #7.
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG BALLET UND PANTOMIME...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

"The Reformation, Hannover" Copper Plate Heliogravure
Located in Chicago, IL
2018 marks the centenary anniversary of Ferdinand Hodler’s death. In that 100 years time, the art world’s esteem of this important artist has proved fickle. It has shifted from extol...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

"Portrait of Prof. Dr. Hermann Sahli" Copper Plate Heliogravure
Located in Chicago, IL
2018 marks the centenary anniversary of Ferdinand Hodler’s death. In that 100 years time, the art world’s esteem of this important artist has proved fickle. It has shifted from extolling his artistic merits during his lifetime to showing something of a feigned disdain- more reflective of the world political order than a true change of heart for Hodler’s work. After years of Hodler being all but a footnote in the annals of art history and generally ignored, finally, the pendulum has righted itself once again. Recent retrospective exhibitions in Europe and the United States have indicated not only a joyful rediscovery of Hodler’s art but a firm conviction that his work and world view hold particular relevance today. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS is not only a collection of printed work reflecting the best of all of his painted work created up to 1914 just before the outbreak of World War I, the portfolio itself is an encapsulation of Hodler’s ethos, Parallelisme. Hodler developed his philosophy of Parallelisme as a unifying approach to art which strips away detail in search of harmony. By means of abstraction, symmetry and repetition, Hodler sought ways to depict Nature’s essence and her fundamental, universal order. He believed these universal laws governing the natural, observable world extend to the spiritual realm. Symbolist in nature with Romantic undertones, his works are equally portraits of these universal concepts and feelings governing all life as they are a visual portrait in the formal sense. Whether his subject is a solitary tree, a moment in battle, mortal fear, despair, the awe inspired by a vast mountain range, a tender moment or even the collective conviction in a belief, Hodler unveils this guiding principle of Parallelisme. Several aspects of Hodler’s portfolio reinforce his tenets of Parallelisme. The Table of Contents clearly preferences a harmonious design over detail. The two columns, consisting of twenty lines each, list the images by order of appearance using their German titles. The abbreviated titles are somewhat cryptic in that they obscure the identities of the sitters. Like the image Hodler presents, they are distillations of the sitter without any extraneous details. This shortening was also done in an effort to maintain a harmonious symmetry of the Table of Contents, themselves, and keep titles to a one-line limit. The twenty-fourth title: “Bildnis des Schweizerischen Gesandten C.” was so long, even with abbreviation, that it required two lines; so, for the sake of maintaining symmetry, the fortieth title: “Bauernmadchen” was omitted from the list. This explains why the images are not numbered. Hodler’s reasoning is not purely esoteric. Symmetry and pattern reach beyond mere formal design principles. Finding sameness and imposing it over disorder goes to the root of Hodler’s identity and his art. A Swiss native, Hodler was bi-lingual and spoke German and French. Each printed image, even number forty, have titles in both of Hodler’s languages. Certainly, there was a market for Hodler’s work among francophones and this inclusion may have been a polite gesture to that end; however, this is the only place in the portfolio which includes French. With German titles at the lower left of each image, Hodler’s name at bottom center and corresponding French titles at the lower right of each image, there is a harmony and symmetry woven into all aspects of the portfolio. This holds true for the page design, as it applies to each printed image and as it describes the Swiss artist himself. Seen in this light, Hodler’s portfolio of printed work is the epitome of Hodler’s Parallelisme. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS is also one of the most significant documents to best tell the story of how Hodler, from Switzerland, became caught between political cross-hairs and how the changing tides of nations directly impacted the artist during his lifetime as well as the accessibility of his art for generations to come. The Munich-based publisher of the portfolio, R. Piper & Co., Verlag, plays a crucial role in this story. Publishing on a wide range of subjects from philosophy and world religion to music, literature and the visual arts; the publisher’s breadth of inquiry within any one genre was equal in scope. Their marketing strategy to publish multiple works on Hodler offers great insight as to what a hot commodity Hodler was at that time. R.Piper & Co.’s Almanach, which they published in 1914 in commemoration of their first ten years in business, clearly illustrates the rapid succession- strategically calculated for achieving the deepest and broadest impact - in which they released three works on Hodler to hit the market by the close of 1914. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS was their premier publication. It preceded C.A. Loosli’s Die Zeichnungen Ferdinand Hodlers, a print portfolio after 50 drawings by Hodler which was released in Autumn of 1914 at the mid-level price-point of 75-150 Marks; and a third less expensive collection of prints after original works by Hodler, which had not been included in either of the first two portfolios, was released at the end of that year entitled Ferdinand Hodler by Dr. Ewald Bender. The title and timing of DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS' debut leaves little doubt as to the connection it has with another avant-garde portfolio of art prints, Das Werk Gustav Klimts, released in 5 installments from 1908 -1914 by Galerie Miethke in Vienna. Hodler, himself, was involved in Klimt’s ground-breaking project. As the owner of Klimt’s 1901 painting, “Judith with the Head of Holifernes” which appears as the ninth collotype print in the second installment of Das Werk Gustav Klimts, Hodler was obliged to grant access of the painting to the art printers in Vienna for them to create the collotype sometime before 1908. Hodler had been previously invited in 1904 to take part in what would be the last exhibition of the Vienna Secession before Klimt and others associated with Galerie Miethke broke away. In an interview that same year, Hodler indicated that he respected and was impressed by Klimt. Hodler’s esteem for Klimt went beyond the art itself; he emulated Klimt’s method aimed at increasing his market reach and appeal to a wider audience by creating a print portfolio of his painted work. By 1914, Hodler and his publisher had the benefit of hindsight to learn from Klimt’s Das Werk publication. Responding to the sluggish sales of Klimt’s expensive endeavor, Hodler’s publisher devised the same diversified 1-2-3 strategy for selling Hodler’s Das Werk portfolio as they did with regards to all three works on Hodler they published that year. For their premium tier of DAS WERKS FERDINAND HODLERS, R. Piper & Co. issued an exclusive Museum quality edition of 15 examples on which Hodler signed each page. At a cost of 600 Marks, this was generally on par with Klimt’s asking price of 600 Kronen for his Das Werk portfolio. A middle-tiered Preferred edition of 30, costing somewhat less and with Hodler’s signature only on the Title Page, was also available. The General edition, targeting the largest audience with its much more affordable price of 150 Marks, is distinguishable by its smaller size. Rather than use the subscription format Miethke had chosen for Klimt’s portfolios which proved to have had its challenges, R. Piper & Co. employed a different strategy. In addition to instantly gratifying the buyer with all 40 of the prints comprising DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS and the choice among three price points, they advertised in German journals a fourth possibility of ordering single prints from them directly. These printed images are easily discernible from the three complete folio editions. The paper size of the single purchased images is of the larger format like the Museum and Preferred editions, measuring 65 h x 50 w cm; however, the paper itself is the same copper print paper used in the General edition and then mounted on poster board. The publishing house positioned itself to be a direct retailer of Hodler’s art. They astutely recognized the potential for profitability and the importance, therefore, of having proprietary control over his graphic works. R. Piper & Co. owned the exclusive printing rights to Hodler’s best work found in their three publications dating from 1914. That same year, a competing publication out of Weimar entitled Ferdinand Hodler: Ein Deutungsversuch von Hans Muhlestein appeared. Its author, a young scholar, expressed his frustration with the limited availability of printable work by Hodler. In his Author’s Note on page 19, dated Easter, 1914, Muhlestein confirms that the publisher of Hodler’s three works from that same year owned the exclusive reproductive rights to Hodler’s printed original work. He goes further to explain that even after offering to pay to use certain of those images in his book, the publisher refused. Clearly, a lot of jockeying for position in what was perceived as a hot market was occurring in 1914. Instead, their timing couldn’t have been more ill-fated, and what began with such high hopes suddenly found a much different market amid a hostile climate. The onset of WWI directly impacted sales. Many, including Ferdinand Hodler, publicly protested the September invasion by Germany of France in which the Reims Cathedral, re-built in the 13th century, was shelled, destroying priceless stained glass and statuary and burning off the iron roof and badly damaging its wooden interior. Thomas Gaehtgens, Director of the Getty Research Institute describes how the bombing of Reims Cathedral triggered blindingly powerful and deeply-felt ultra-nationalistic responses: “The event profoundly shocked French intellectuals, who for the most part had an intense admiration for German literature, music and art. By relying on press accounts and abstracting from the visual propagandistic content, they were unable to interpret the siege of Reims without turning away from German culture in disgust. Similarly, the German intelligentsia and bourgeoisie were also shocked to find themselves described as vandals and barbarians. Ninety-three writers, scientists, university professors, and artists signed a protest, directed against the French insults, that defended the actions of the German army.” In similar fashion, a flurry of open letters published in German newspapers and journals as well as telegrams and postcards sent directly to Hodler following his outcry in support of Reims reflected the collectively critical reaction to Hodler’s position. Loosli documents that among the list of telegrams Hodler received was one from none other than his publisher in Germany, R.Piper & Co. Allegiances were questioned. The market for Hodler in Germany immediately softened. Matters worsened for the publisher beyond the German backlash to Hodler and his loss of appeal in the home market; with the war in full swing until 1918, there was little chance a German publisher would have much interest coming from outside of Germany and Austria. Following the war and Hodler’s death in 1918, the economy in Germany continued to spiral out and just 5 years later, hyper-inflation had rendered its currency worthless vis-a-vis its value in the pre-war years. Like the economy, Hodler’s reputation was slow to find currency in these difficult times. Even many French art fans had turned sour on Hodler as they considered his long-standing relationship in German and Austrian art circles. Thus, the portfolio’s rarity in Hodler’s lifetime and, consequently, the availability of these printed images from DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS since his death has been scarce. In many ways, Hodler and his portfolios were casualties of war. Thwarted from their intended purpose of reaching a wide audience and show-casing Parallelisme, Hodler’s unique approach to art, this important, undated work has been both elusive and shrouded in mystery. Perhaps DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS was left undated as a means of affirming the timelessness of Hodler’s art. Digging back into the past, Hodler’s contemporaries, like R. Piper, C.A. Loosli and Hans Muhlestein, indeed provide the keys to unequivocally clarify what has largely been mired in obscurity. Just after Hodler’s death, the May, 1918 issue of the Burlington Review ran a small column which opined hope for better access to R.Piper & Co.’s DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS; 100 years later, it is finally possible. Hodler’s voice rings out through these printed works. Once more, his modern approach to depicting portraits, landscapes and grand scale scenes of Swiss history speak to us of what is universal. Engaging with any one of these images is the chance to connect to Hodler’s vision and his world view- weltanschauung in German, vision du monde in French- however one expresses these concepts through language, its message embedded in his work is the same: “We differ from one another, but we are like each other even more. What unifies us is greater and more powerful than what divides us.” Today, Hodler’s art couldn’t be more timely. FERDINAND HODLER (SWISS, 1853-1918) explored Parallelisme through figurative poses evocative of music, dance and ritual. His images of sex, night, desertion and death as well as his many landscapes exploring the universal longing for harmony with Nature are unique and important works embodying a Symbolist paradigm. Truly a Modern Master, Hodler’s influence can be felt in the work of Gustav Klimt and Kolomon Moser and subsequent Expressionist artists such as Egon Schiele. He was born into an impoverished family in Bern, Switzerland in 1853. His entire family succumbed to tuberculosis, and he was orphaned by the age of 13, the only surviving child among his 13 siblings. In the absence of family, the influence and guidance which his art instructors provided Hodler was foundational and profound. Hodler began formal studies in 1872 at the Geneva School of Design. Under Barthelemy Menn, Hodler was drawn to the ordered beauty of Euclidian geometry and Durer’s fundamentals of human proportion that proved to be guiding principles informing his art throughout his life. By the 1880s, Hodler began to enjoy some recognition for his work which put him on a new path towards stability. Remaining in Geneva, he became assistant to the well-known muralist, Edouard Castres. Following his first solo show in 1885, Hodler’s work took on a Symbolist quality. He frequently associated with a group of Swiss Symbolist...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

"Stockhorn Mountain Range at Thuner Lake" Copper Plate Heliogravure
Located in Chicago, IL
2018 marks the centenary anniversary of Ferdinand Hodler’s death. In that 100 years time, the art world’s esteem of this important artist has proved fickle. It has shifted from extol...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Ballet und Pantomime "Tschaikiun I", print #3.
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell o...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Blom & van der AA.
By Louis Raemaekers
Located in New York, NY
Raemakers, Louis. Blom & van der AA. Ca 1920s. Color lithograph Louis Raemaekers, was a Dutch cartoonist who gained international fame with his anti-German cartoons during World W...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Ostend Bathing Machine.
Located in Storrs, CT
1926. Drypoint. Appleby 119. 6 7/8 x 8 7/8 (sheet 9 x 12 1/4). Edition 100, #97. Printed by David Strang on cream laid paper. Wrinkling in the margins; otherwise fine condition. A rich impression with tonal wiping and drypoint burr. Signed and numbered in pencil.n pencil. Housed in a 16 x 20-inch archival mat, suitable for framing. The bathing machine...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

"Saut" Figurative French Gymnastics Vaulting Illustration Larousse Dictionary
Located in Houston, TX
Figurative French etching from the Larousse dictionary of various gymnastic vaulting events. Each event features multiple stages of the movement, similar to the style of Eadweard Muybridge. Currently hung in a solid black from with a wide white matting. Dimensions Without Frame: H 3.5 in. x W 4.25 in. Artist Biography: Louis Bombled (1862-1927) is a French painter , draftsman and engraver. He was the son of the Dutch painter Karel Frederik Bombled. Living in Chantilly, he became a pupil of Évariste-Vital Luminais. He worked for the newspapers L'Illustration, Le Monde illustré, Le Petit Journal...
Category

Victorian Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Nacktes Liegendes Mädchen auf Diwan
Located in New York, NY
Drypoint printed in dark brown on heavy cream wove paper with wide margins. This is the third state (of four) from a small edition of only several. Signed and inscribed "II Zustand" ...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Color, Drypoint

Lopokovana and Niginski in "Les Sylphides" Colored Drypoint Signed Troy Kinney
Located in New York, NY
This refined etching and drypoint was realized by the esteemed American artist Troy Kinney in the United States circa 1920. The work features two dancing figures- a woman leaning against the male figure behind her, perhaps moments before being hurled into the air or spun in a graceful twirl. She dons a tutu and ballet slippers that are loosely and abstractly rendered against a white background. The gentleman sports a white shirt and black vest. Both of them have a shock of flaxen hair that offers a beautiful tonal complement to the textured muted jade background. With its refined color palate, clean modernist lines, and masterful handling of the medium, this piece would be a winning addition to any interior regardless of the style of interior. Given the artist's importance and placement within esteemed collections (private and institutional), this piece represents a winning acquisition for collectors of first rate modern art as well as exquisite objects. It comes presented in a custom gilded gallery frame and is in excellent vintage condition. Troy Sylvanus Kinney (December 1, 1871 – January 29, 1938) was an American artist, best known for his compelling works portraying dance performers, fanciful subjects, and classically styled nudes...
Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

Fra Åsgårdstrand (Schiefler 260; Woll 289), Edvard Munch
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Drypoint on gewöhnlichem aber holzfreiem vélin paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition. Notes: From the album, Verzeichnis Des graphischen Werks Edvard Munchs Bis 1...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint

The European Macabre Dance N.12 - Lithograph by A. Martini - 1915
Located in Roma, IT
The European Macabre Dance N.12 is a hand-colored lithograph, from the Series "La Danza Macabra Europea" illustrated by Alberto Martini (Oderzo, 1876 – Milan, 1954) in 1915. Origina...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Santa sitting on the Globe Gouache
Located in New York, NY
Original gouache with stencil by Warner Kreuter. Wisconsin, 1929. Initialed lower/mid right. Dated lower left. Mounted on green card stock. Unframed.
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Peter Pathe - Original Lithograph Poster
Located in Chicago, IL
PETER PATHE, poster lithograph, Schnackenberg School, 1919, the image features the headline performer, Peter Pathe, in drag wearing a form-fitting button-down jacket, high-waisted shorts buttoning down the front, Mary Jane dance shoes and calf-length white socks; Pathe is depicted in motion with raised jazz hands which frame his bushy-haired heavily made-up face and body curving in dynamic lateral movement with raised front leg turned out; with printed text at the bottom: “PETER PATHE/und/Fritz Wolf-Killanyi * Renate Ferena/Tia Majja * Else Zimmermann tanzenmit grossem/Orchester (Leitung: Rob. Tants) Donnerstag, 18 Nov., amends 71/2 Uhr im Konzertsaal Hotel “Vier Jahreszeiten”/Karten zu Mk. 20. - bis Mk. 3.- bei Alfr. Schmid Nachf., Residenzstr. 7 und Otto Halbreiter, Promendeplatz 16.”; printed text at mid-right: “M. Pathe/19”; marked with the printer’s stamp in the lower right: “Oscar Consee/Kunstanstalt/Munchen/Valley Str./7-9”; the poster is secured by matting and framed with a plexiglass cover, Boston...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Dancer in an Oriental Pageant"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell o...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Le Tasse de The (The Cup of Tea)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Le Tasse de The (The Cup of Tea) Color aquatint and etching, c. 1906 Signed in pencil in the image (see photo) Edition: c. 100 Reference: Merrill Chase, Volume 1, No. 85 Condition: F...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Aquatint

Bayros-Mappe III - Héliogravure by Fraz von Bayros - 1913
Located in Roma, IT
Héliogravure on japanese paper realized by Fraz von Bayros in 1913 for Ex Libris Verlag K. Th. Senger, Munich. Mounted on passepartout. Edition of 260, hand signed in pencil by the ...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Photogravure

Alphonse Mucha Zdenka Cerny 1913 Lithograph (Rare and Large)
Located in Dallas, TX
Alphonse Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939) Original Lithograph 1913 - Very Large - "Zdenka Cerny" The Greatest Bohemian Violincellist Prague, Czechoslovak Color lithograph Signed and dated "...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Läderlappen"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino poster...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Le Cafe du Commerce
Located in New York, NY
Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Le Cafe du Commerce, etching, 1913, signed in pencil lower left and numbered lower right 28/35 [also with the signature and d...
Category

Cubist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

"Ludovic Halevy Meeting Madame Cardinal Backstage" after Edgar Degas
Located in Hinsdale, IL
Degas, Edgar (after) (1834 -1917) "Ludovic Halevy Meeting Madame Cardinal Backstage" Soft-Ground Etching created from a Monotype, 1938-9 First State. # 251 from the edition of 350 o...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

THE KNAVE OF HEARTS
Located in Portland, ME
Parrish, Maxfield. THE KNAVE OF HEARTS. 1925. 14 full page and many smaller color plates. A Fine copy of Parrish's most elaborate book. A highlight among American children's books, b...
Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Offset

Odalisque, brasero et coup de fruits
Located in New York, NY
A very good, richly-inked impression of this lithograph. Signed and numbered 57/100 in pencil by Matisse. Printed at the studio of Duchatel, Paris 1929.
Category

Fauvist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Interior with Red Shawl (Young woman reads in this calm Vermeer-like interior)
Located in New Orleans, LA
Interior with a red shawl conveys a quite different mood and feeling: one of calm, and suspension of time. Here the suggestion is that the woman is waiting ...
Category

Dutch School Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Mezzotint

Schubert's Birthplace, Vienna, Austria
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Schubert's Birthplace, Vienna, Austria" c.1925 is a color etching on Wove paper by Austrian artist Luigi Kasimir, 1881-1962. It is hand signed in pencil by the a...
Category

Realist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Le Poeme (The Poem)
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Date: 1928 Medium: Etching and aquatint on wove paper Framed Dimensions: 28.00" x 31.50" Signature: Signed in pencil at lower right, with the artist’s blindstamp at lower left. “C...
Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Aquatint, Etching

Ballet und Pantomime "Der Vogelfanger" (The Bird Catcher), plate #19.
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell o...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Le Déshabille, Impressionist Etching with Aquatint by Manuel Robbe, circa 1907
Located in Long Island City, NY
This etching with aquatint was created by French printmaker Manuel Robbe. Robbe’s innovative techniques, along with his sense of color harmony and his choice of subjects: stylish wom...
Category

Impressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Music : Violinist Player - Lithograph, 1918
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) Violonist, 1918 Lithograph enhanced with pastel On vellum 47.5 x 31 cm (c. 18.7 x 12.2 inch) INFORMATION : Edited by Louis Rouart in Paris, former colle...
Category

Academic Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Pastel, Lithograph

"Portrait of Swiss Political Attachee, Carlin" Copper Plate Heliogravure
Located in Chicago, IL
2018 marks the centenary anniversary of Ferdinand Hodler’s death. In that 100 years time, the art world’s esteem of this important artist has proved fickle. It has shifted from extolling his artistic merits during his lifetime to showing something of a feigned disdain- more reflective of the world political order than a true change of heart for Hodler’s work. After years of Hodler being all but a footnote in the annals of art history and generally ignored, finally, the pendulum has righted itself once again. Recent retrospective exhibitions in Europe and the United States have indicated not only a joyful rediscovery of Hodler’s art but a firm conviction that his work and world view hold particular relevance today. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS is not only a collection of printed work reflecting the best of all of his painted work created up to 1914 just before the outbreak of World War I, the portfolio itself is an encapsulation of Hodler’s ethos, Parallelisme. Hodler developed his philosophy of Parallelisme as a unifying approach to art which strips away detail in search of harmony. By means of abstraction, symmetry and repetition, Hodler sought ways to depict Nature’s essence and her fundamental, universal order. He believed these universal laws governing the natural, observable world extend to the spiritual realm. Symbolist in nature with Romantic undertones, his works are equally portraits of these universal concepts and feelings governing all life as they are a visual portrait in the formal sense. Whether his subject is a solitary tree, a moment in battle, mortal fear, despair, the awe inspired by a vast mountain range, a tender moment or even the collective conviction in a belief, Hodler unveils this guiding principle of Parallelisme. Several aspects of Hodler’s portfolio reinforce his tenets of Parallelisme. The Table of Contents clearly preferences a harmonious design over detail. The two columns, consisting of twenty lines each, list the images by order of appearance using their German titles. The abbreviated titles are somewhat cryptic in that they obscure the identities of the sitters. Like the image Hodler presents, they are distillations of the sitter without any extraneous details. This shortening was also done in an effort to maintain a harmonious symmetry of the Table of Contents, themselves, and keep titles to a one-line limit. The twenty-fourth title: “Bildnis des Schweizerischen Gesandten C.” was so long, even with abbreviation, that it required two lines; so, for the sake of maintaining symmetry, the fortieth title: “Bauernmadchen” was omitted from the list. This explains why the images are not numbered. Hodler’s reasoning is not purely esoteric. Symmetry and pattern reach beyond mere formal design principles. Finding sameness and imposing it over disorder goes to the root of Hodler’s identity and his art. A Swiss native, Hodler was bi-lingual and spoke German and French. Each printed image, even number forty, have titles in both of Hodler’s languages. Certainly, there was a market for Hodler’s work among francophones and this inclusion may have been a polite gesture to that end; however, this is the only place in the portfolio which includes French. With German titles at the lower left of each image, Hodler’s name at bottom center and corresponding French titles at the lower right of each image, there is a harmony and symmetry woven into all aspects of the portfolio. This holds true for the page design, as it applies to each printed image and as it describes the Swiss artist himself. Seen in this light, Hodler’s portfolio of printed work is the epitome of Hodler’s Parallelisme. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS is also one of the most significant documents to best tell the story of how Hodler, from Switzerland, became caught between political cross-hairs and how the changing tides of nations directly impacted the artist during his lifetime as well as the accessibility of his art for generations to come. The Munich-based publisher of the portfolio, R. Piper & Co., Verlag, plays a crucial role in this story. Publishing on a wide range of subjects from philosophy and world religion to music, literature and the visual arts; the publisher’s breadth of inquiry within any one genre was equal in scope. Their marketing strategy to publish multiple works on Hodler offers great insight as to what a hot commodity Hodler was at that time. R.Piper & Co.’s Almanach, which they published in 1914 in commemoration of their first ten years in business, clearly illustrates the rapid succession- strategically calculated for achieving the deepest and broadest impact - in which they released three works on Hodler to hit the market by the close of 1914. DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS was their premier publication. It preceded C.A. Loosli’s Die Zeichnungen Ferdinand Hodlers, a print portfolio after 50 drawings by Hodler which was released in Autumn of 1914 at the mid-level price-point of 75-150 Marks; and a third less expensive collection of prints after original works by Hodler, which had not been included in either of the first two portfolios, was released at the end of that year entitled Ferdinand Hodler by Dr. Ewald Bender. The title and timing of DAS WERK FERDINAND HODLERS' debut leaves little doubt as to the connection it has with another avant-garde portfolio of art...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Irving Place Burlesk
Located in New York, NY
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Irving Place Burlesk, etching, 1929, signed in pencil lower right and numbered (18) lower left. Reference: Sasowsky 75, third state (of 3). In very good c...
Category

American Realist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

R. Layni, Zeichnungen folio, "Kneeling Female Semi-Nude" Collotype plate XII
Located in Chicago, IL
Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918), AUSTRIA “ART CANNOT BE MODERN, ART IS PRIMORDIALLY ETERNAL.” -SCHIELE Defiantly iconoclastic in life and art, Egon Schiele is esteemed for his masterful draftsmanship and precocious insight into the human condition. Part of the first wave of Austrian Modernism, he was swept away by the Viennese fascination with the tension between Life and Death (known in the works of Freud and his later interpreters as Eros and Thanatos). Life, identified with attraction, love, sexuality, and reproduction, and Death, represented by distortion, disease, repulsion, and hysteria, often appeared in the same composition, thereby suggesting the frightening life cycle of the human mind and body. Young throughout his career, Schiele universalized his childhood traumas, thriving libido, insecurities, fears, and longings. His contorted line, jarring contrasts, and flat areas of color, demonstrate an early alliance with Expressionist philosophy and artists who were relentlessly frustrated by conventionality in all its forms. Schiele’s work embodied man’s disorientation and confusion in a seemingly absurd world, a world plagued by disease and war. It continues to be astonishingly relevant today, not just because it helped define Modernism but also because it revealed the dark and immutable aspects of the human condition. Zeichnungen is a fine art print portfolio published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Richard Lanyi, Vienna, 1917, printed by Max Jaffe...
Category

Vienna Secession Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

L'Éventail rose
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this scarce color etching and drypoint. Fourth state (of 4). Signed and numbered 54/100 in pencil, lower margin.
Category

Cubist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Color, Drypoint, Etching

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Erry & Merry"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino poster...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

MON DOUX OU-ETES-VOUS? / MY SWEET COUNTRY, WERE ARE YOU?
Located in Santa Monica, CA
GEORGES ROUAULT (1871-1958) MON DOUX OU-ETES-VOUS? / MY SWEET COUNTRY, WERE ARE YOU? 1927 ( Chapon/Rouault 97; Wofsy 151) Miserere XLIV Aquatint, 1927, on laid Arches. watermark...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Aquatint

Les Bars, selected prints
Located in Wilton, CT
6 plates from the Lobel- Riche books, Les Bars depicting pre- war Paris fashions in the bars and nightclubs.
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Anne Lemans"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Coquette
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Coquette Pochoir (silk screen) printed in colors, c. 1923-1925 Signed by the artist in pencil lower right; numbered in ink on the image, (see photo) Edition: 250 (100/250) in pencil in image (see photo) Image size: 10-1/2 x 12-3/4" The artist won a gold medal in Paris in 1925 for his porchoirs Victor Max Ninon (Vittorio Accornero de Testa, Italian, 1896-1982) Biography Vittorio Accornero de Testa was born in Casale Monferrato in 1896. He completed his first studies at the "Leardi" institute, but was forced to interrupt them due to the war events of the First World War . At 19 he was second lieutenant of the Alpine troops and in 1916 he took one of the first pilot's licenses. During the war he knows the bitterness of shooting down in air combat (for which he is decorated), but also the good fortune to stay alive, albeit with a disability. His art blossomed in the postwar period, first signing his works simply Ninon and then, probably at the suggestion of a French publisher, under the pseudonym of "Victor Max Ninon" (Victor and Max indicate strength and masculinity, Ninon boyhood) .In 1919 and 1924 he made illustrations for theGiornalino della Domenica , also together with his first wife Edina Altara , for Ardita and La Lettura . In 1923 he won the cover competition organized by the magazine El Hogar of Buenos Aires and in 1925 with his pochoirs he imposed himself in Paris at the international exhibition of modern decorative and industrial arts , obtaining a gold medal. In the same year he made two covers for the US magazine The Smart Set . In the 1920s he made numerous series of art deco style postcards for the Milanese publishing house Degami . On June 4, 1929, aGenoa embarks on the Conte Grande together with his wife Edina Altara , for New York . The two stayed in the American metropolis for a few months: in this period Accornero worked on the creation of theatrical sets and created some covers for Country Life magazine . Accornero gets awards and prizes, but the great economic crisis of the time and the nostalgia for Italy convince the two to return to their homeland, where they resume their activity as illustrators. In 1934 Accornero moved to Milan, separated amicably from his wife and continued to dedicate himself to the illustration of children's books, abandoning the pseudonym Victor Max Ninon. It illustrates about 60 books, from the fables of Andersen , Perrault and Grimm , to the tales of Poe , as well as the famous Pinocchio and Cuore published by Mondadori, Mursia, Hoepli, Martello. Several books illustrated by Accornero have been published in French, Spanish, German and English. In addition to the periodicals already mentioned, he collaborates on the first edition of the Encyclopedia of Boys , Mondadori, and with the Italian magazines Lidel , Il Secolo XX, The Italian Illustration , Fantasies of Italy , The Woman , Cordelia , For You Lady , Grace , Metropolis , La Domenica del Corriere , The Corriere dei Piccoli . In 1936 enters the world of cinema, creating sets and costumes for Wedding Vagabonde of Guido Brignone and The White Squadron of Augustus Genina . From 1935 to 1950 he also devoted himself to the theater, taking care of sets and costumes for numerous operettas, ballets and performances at the Scala in Milan and for the Milanese theaters Manzoni, Lirico and Olympia. Stages Marcello di Giordano, Nina pazza d'amore by Paisiello, I cantori di Nurimberga by Wagner, La Bohème by Puccini and other works. For this activity he is also cited in the Theater encyclopedia. In the 1940s and 1950s he wrote and illustrated six books for children for Mondadori: Tomaso (1944), Giacomino (1949), Tomaso Cacciatore (1950), Zio Stefano (1950), In Campagna che delizia! (1953), Tomaso, dear Tomaso (1955). His illustrations of Perrault's Tales published in those years by Hoepli are famous. His art in the fifties evolves towards hyperrealism . There are many personal exhibitions in Italy and abroad, including those at the Gallerie Gussoni (1959) and Bolzani (1963 and 1966) in Milan and Walcheturm (1962) in Zurich. Eminent critics praise his work, from Orio Vergani to Enrico Piceni, from Reto Roedel to De Chirico himself. On the Domenica del Corriere , the journalist, writer and painter Dino Buzzati...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Stencil

Erotic Scene - Lithograph by Toyen - 1927
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic scene is an artwork realized by Toyen in 1927. Mixed colored watercolored lithograph. The artwork is an illustration from the book Pybrac written by Pierre Louÿs  (1870-1925...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

BADENDE MANNER: (THREE MALE BATHERS AT THE SHORE)
Located in Portland, ME
Kaus, Max. BADENDE MANNER: (THREE MALE BATHERS AT THE SHORE). Lithograph, c. 1924. Signed, lower left, in pencil, and numbered 6-10, further inscribed, lo...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Ballet und Pantomime "Spukgestalt" (Ghostly Figure), plate #12.
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell o...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Joachim von Seewitz"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Paper

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Lena Amsel"
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs has reintroduced the world to Walter Schnackenberg’s graphic genius and priceless ephemeral art from a lost era. Besides the museum world, designer Karl Lagerfeld is one of the most prodigious collectors of Schnackenberg. Flipping through the pages of Kostume, Plakate und Dekorationen, it becomes quite clear that Schnackenberg’s collection is ground zero at the crossroads of early modern fashion where the cult of celebrity meets up with dance, music, theater and cabaret, film and the graphic medium. Berlin and Munich under Germany’s Weimar Republic in the first quarter of the 20th century produced just the atmosphere to feed this burgeoning industry. Rising inflation sparked a recklessness to live large for the moment and heightened a desire for escapism. An influx of Indian and East Asian dancers and musicians added to the artsy bohemian cultural mix. A new decadence and tolerance resulted. Film boldly featured provocative subject matter. Cabarets became popular venues giving rise to the demi-monde in which people from all social stations mixed more freely in a thriving underground economy and culture where there was a blurring of boundaries and of social codes. Noted art historian and cultural doyen, Oskar Bie astutely observes in his introduction to Schnackenberg’s publication that what unites the images is fantasy and advertisement. Schnackenberg uses the eye as an instrument to brilliantly construct and convey this double message. His personages never directly confront the viewer. Their eyes gaze off in the distance like those of the screenplayer and film star Hedamaria Scholz in Schnackenberg’s “Die Rodelhexe” movie poster. Their eyes follow the path of a dance composition or become a transfixed and ogling male gaze such as the iconic 1911 Odeon Casino poster...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

3 Jewish Men Judaica Woodblock Woodcut Engraving Print Chicago 1930s WPA Artist
Located in Surfside, FL
Todros Geller (1889 – 1949) was a Jewish American artist and teacher best known as a master printmaker and a leading artist among Chicago’s art community.Geller was born in Vinnytsia, the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1889.[2] He studied art in Odessa and continued his studies after moving to Montreal in 1906 where he immigrated to Canada. He married and moved to Chicago in 1918, where he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago until 1923. Geller produced paintings, woodcuts, woodcarvings, and etchings. His work focused on Jewish tradition, often including moralistic themes and social commentary, shtetl, ghetto life, and the intersection of Jewish tradition with modern-day Chicago. He regarded art as a tool for social reform and he spent a large part of his career teaching art. His work was commissioned for stained glass windows, bookplates, community centers and Yiddish and English books. He was regarded as a leader in the field of synagogue and religious art. He designed stained glass window for synagogues in Omaha, Fort Worth, Dayton, Stamford, and Chicago Heights. Over the course of his career he illustrated more than 40 books. In addition to conducting classes in his studio, Geller was head of art at the Jewish People’s Institute (JPI), supervisor of art for the Board of Jewish Education and director of art for the College of Jewish Studies (which became the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership) and taught at Hull House. Many prominent Chicago artists studied drawing and painting under Geller. Geller was a source of inspiration to Aaron Bohrod and Mitchell Siporin...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Woodcut

La Parade, Signed Modern Lithograph by Georges Rouault c1925
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Georges Rouault Title: La Parade Year: circa 1925 Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 15/25 Image: 12.5 x 1...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Ballet und Pantomime "Tschaikiun II", plate #17.
Located in Chicago, IL
Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG BALLET UND PANTOMIME...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

Katabexine
Located in Hinsdale, IL
CAPPIELLO, LEONETTO (1875 - 1942) "Katabexine" Lithograph in color, linen-backed c. 1903 Sheet size: 54.25” x 39” Cap./GP, 252; Cap/StV, 4.22; DFP-II, 118; Schardt, pp. 174-5; PAI-V...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

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