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Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

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Period: Early 20th Century
La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Neoclassical Scene - Lithograph after Baldassarre Peruzzi - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage cromolithograph print applied on plywood, realized after a 1508 fresco by Baldassarre Peruzzi, now hosted in Villa Farnesina Rome. Includes a gilded wooden frame.
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Ruff's Farm
Located in Middletown, NY
A nostalgic image of a bucolic farmyard and thatched cottage, hearkening to a bygone era. c 1920. Etching with drypoint on laid watercolor paper with deckle edges, and an indiscerni...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Drypoint, Etching

CASANOVA
Located in Aventura, FL
Etching on paper. Hand signed lower right margin. Image size: 20 x 13 inches. Frame size approx 36 x 27 inches. Reference: Figure 331 page 156 in "Louis Icart: The complete etchin...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Etching

CASANOVA
CASANOVA
$1,875 Sale Price
25% Off
La Garçonne
Located in OPOLE, PL
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) - La Garçonne Original Lithograph, pochoir from 1925. Arches paper (no watermark). Dimensions of work: 23.5 x 18 cm Publisher: E. Flammarion Éditeur. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Bernard Sanders, (Abstraction with Sun)
Located in New York, NY
Bernard Sanders (1906-1967) was a master of minimalist prints. In several I've posted the subject is really atmosphere and tension. This could be r...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Erotic Scene - Lithograph by Toyen - 1927
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic scene is an artwork realized by Toyen in 1923. 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

Klimt, Weibliches Bildnis, 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: 14.57 x 8.58 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the fo...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Rodin, Composition, Douze aquarelles de Auguste Rodin (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph and stencil on vélin paper. Paper Size: 15 x 12.2 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Douze aquarelles de Auguste Ro...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Study for Lyric Drama - Original Lithograph
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) Study for Lyric Drama, 1918 Original lithograph enhanced in pastel Unsigned On light cream tinted paper 33.5 x 46.5 cm (c. 13,18 x 18,3 inch) INFORMATIO...
Category

Academic Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

'Viel Gluck 1923' (Good Luck Wishes) — German Expressionism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Karl Michel, 'Viel Gluck 1923 Wunscht der Graphikverlag, J.G. Holzwarth/Bad Rothenfelde', woodcut, 1922, edition 20. Signed and numbered op. 135d and 20/20 in pencil. Signed in the image, lower left. Annotated 'Vorgesdruck' [artist’s proof] in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on heavy, cream Japan paper, with full margins (5/8 to 1 1/8 inches), in good condition. With the artist’s blind stamp in the top left margin. Printed by the artist. Matted to museum standards, unframed. New Year's Greeting - "1923, Good Luck Wishes from the Graphic Press, J.G. Holzwarth/Bad Rothfelde." Image size 5 x 3 1/2 inches (127 x 89 mm); sheet size 6 5/8 x 5 7/8 inches (168 x 149 mm). ABOUT THE ARTIST Karl Michel (1889-1984) was a noted graphic designer and expressionist printmaker during Germany's pre-Nazi Weimar Republic (1919-1933). Michel’s work was the subject of a feature article in the influential German graphic design magazine Das Plakat (The Poster) in 1920. An anti-war advocate, Michel created a suite of 12 wood engravings depicting his impressions of the humanitarian toll of WWII entitled ‘Humanitas’ (Humanity). The German publishing house Greifenverlag published the series in a reduced folio of unsigned prints. Michel’s graphic work is held in the permanent collections of the Auckland War Memorial Museum (New Zealand), Frederikshavn Kunstmuseum & Exlibrissamling (Denmark), Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest), The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the German Expressionism...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

S. Salvatore Church - Offset after Giuseppe Vasi - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano is a vintage offset print realized in the eary 20th Century after Giuseppe Vasi. Signed and titled on plate lower margin.  Good conditions. Gius...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Original Lampsin - Grellet vintage art nouveau poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Allons chez Lampsin – Grellet vintage poster. Linen-backed original turn-of-the-century poster. This couple points out where to go to select their new peddle sewing machi...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Rodin, Composition, Douze aquarelles de Auguste Rodin (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph and stencil on vélin paper. Paper Size: 12.2 x 15 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Douze aquarelles de Auguste Ro...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

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

Les cygnes by Georges Manzana Pissarro - Animal themed monotype
Located in London, GB
Les cygnes by Georges Manzana Pissarro (1871-1961) Watercolour monotype 49 x 63 cm (19 ¹/₄ x 24 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower left, manzana Executed circa 1920 Provenance: Private collec...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Monotype

"Der Hirte" original woodcut
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original color woodcut. Catalogue reference JH 771. Published in 1919 for Genius. Image size: 9 1/2 x 7 inches (240 x 178mm), on wove paper with full margins. This print is f...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Composition, Propos d'un intoxiqué, Léonard Tsugouharu Foujita (藤田 嗣治)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph, stencil on vélin paper. Paper size: 11.42 x 9.05 inches. Inscription: signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: from the folio, Propos d'un intoxiqué, Aquarel...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Man & Beast by Orovida Pissarro - Etching
Located in London, GB
Man & Beast by Orovida Pissarro (1893-1968) Etching 27 x 22 cm (10 ⁵/₈ x 8 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed and dated lower right, orovida 1924 Inscribed lower left, Final state no 12/40 and titled lower centre Artist biography: Orovida Camille Pissarro, Lucien and Esther Pissarro’s only child, was the first woman in the Pissarro family as well as the first of her generation to become an artist. Born in Epping, England in 1893, she lived and worked predominantly in London where she became a prominent member of several British arts clubs and societies. She first learned to paint in the Impressionist style of her father, but after a brief period of formal study with Walter Sickert in 1913 she renounced formal art schooling. Throughout her career, Orovida always remained outside of any mainstream British art movements. Much to Lucien's disappointment she soon turned away from naturalistic painting and developed her own unusual style combining elements of Japanese, Chinese, Persian and Indian art. Her rejection of Impressionism, which for the Pissarro family had become a way of life, together with the simultaneous decision to drop her famous last name and simply use Orovida as a ‘nom de peintre’, reflected a deep desire for independence and distance from the weight of the family legacy. Orovida's most distinctive and notable works were produced from the period of 1919 to 1939 using her own homemade egg tempera applied in thin, delicate washes to silk, linen or paper and sometimes embellished with brocade borders. These elegant and richly decorative works generally depict Eastern, Asian and African subjects, such as Mongolian horse...
Category

Post-Impressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Two Nudes Walking - Original lithograph, 1918
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) Two Nudes Walkin, 1918 Original lithograph with charcoal enhancement Printed signature in the plate On cream linen paper 46 x 36 cm (c. 18 x 14 inch) Ex...
Category

Realist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Erotic Scene - Lithograph by Albert Marquet - 1920s
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic Scene is a beautiful lithograph on ivory-colored paper, realized in the 1920s by Albert Marquet (Bordeaux, 1875 - Paris,1947). Monogrammed on the plate on the lower margin. ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Composition, Propos d'un intoxiqué, Léonard Tsugouharu Foujita (藤田 嗣治)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph, stencil on vélin paper. Paper size: 11.42 x 9.05 inches. Inscription: signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: from the folio, Propos d'un intoxiqué, Aquarel...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Print Porcelain Plaque Last Supper Painting after Leonardo in Carved Wood Frame
Located in Firenze, IT
A lovely early 20th century printed porcelain miniature of The last supper painting after Leonardo Da Vinci in Italian Cenacolo. This Swiss Fr...
Category

Renaissance Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Porcelain, Color

Ex Libris Luise Trautmann - Etching - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Etching and drypoint realized by an unknown german Artist of the early 20th century. Hand signed in pencil. Glued on a green mat, cm 23.5x16. Very good condition.
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

La Persane
Located in London, GB
Henri Matisse La Persane 1929 Lithograph on Arches Velin paper, Edition of 50 Paper size: 63 x 44.5 cms (24 3/4 x 17 1/2 ins) Image size: 44.8 x 29 cms (1...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Picasso, Composition (Horodisch C2), Calligrammes (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Woodcut on vélin de cuve à la forme des papeteries d'Arches paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good condition. Notes: From the volume, Calligrammes, poèmes de la paix et de l...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Composition, Les Biches, Marie Laurencin
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph and stencil on papier vélin des Manufactures d'Arches paper. Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Good Condition. Notes: From the volume, Les Biches, 1924. Published by Édi...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Orientalism : Young Girl with a Pot - Original wooodcut, Handsigned & Numbered
Located in Paris, IDF
Jules MIGONNEY (1876-1929) Orientalism : Young Girl with a Pot, 1921 Original woodcut Handsigned in pencil Numbered /125 On vellum 32.5 x 25.5 cm (c. 13 x 10 in) Bears the blind sta...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Amanda (Marguèrite), No. 1
Located in Storrs, CT
Amanda No. 1 (Marguèrite). 1920. Etching. Fletcher 18. 3 1/2 x 2 3/8 (sheet 9 x 7 1/4). Edition 55. . A rich proof printed with plate tone on cream laid paper with full margins. Sign...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Mythology : The Hesperides Nymphs - Original Wooodcut, Handsigned
Located in Paris, IDF
Raphaël DROUART Mythology : The Hesperides Nymphs, 1921 Original woodcut Handsigned in pencil Numbered /125 On vellum 32.5 x 25 cm (c. 12,7 x 9,5 in) Edited for the 'Imagier de la ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Gin Giving Doris a Haircut
Located in Middletown, NY
A life drawing by a well known book illustrator and long-term resident of the Chelsea Hotel in the 1930s. Caswell, Edward Gin giving Doris a hair cut Black crayon on lightweight, br...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Crayon

Early 20th Century British Street Scene - 1920s Figurative Landscape Etching
By E. Mary Shelley
Located in Soquel, CA
Highly detailed figurative landscape lithograph of a street in London with a towering cathedral, old buildings, and figures walking the street below by E. Mary Shelley (English, late...
Category

Impressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Etching

"Portrait of Sculptor James Vibert" 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...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper

"Girl in the Garden" 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

"What the Flowers Say" 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

Untitled
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Theophile Alexandre Steinlen (Swiss, 1859-1923) Title: Untitled Year: c.1915 Medium: Lithograph Edition: Unknown, probably 400 Paper: Thin vellum Image size: 1...
Category

Realist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

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

Harbor with Sailboats — Early 20th-Century Modernism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
George Josimovich, Untitled (Harbor with Sailboats) ', linocut, 1923, edition 35. Signed, dated, and annotated '4/35' in pencil. Initialed 'G J' in ...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Linocut

Man Holding Hat
Located in Middletown, NY
New York: Sylvan Cole, 1929. Etching on white wove Rives paper with an infinity watermark, 5 15/16 x 3 15/16 inches (151 x 100 mm); sheet 15 7/16 x 11 15/16 inches (392 x 303 mm), f...
Category

American Realist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint, Aquatint

Erotic Scene - Héliogravure by Micheal Von Zichy - 1911
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic scene is an original Héliogravure artwork on ivory-colored paper, realized by Micheal Von Zichy in 1911. Printed in only 300 copies, Leipzig; Privatdruck, from the Catalogue ...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Engraving

Pablo Picasso, Peintre travaillant from Le Chef- d’Œuvre Inconnu, etching
Located in Chatsworth, CA
An original etching from "Le Chef- d’Œuvre Inconnu" by Pablo Picasso, created in 1927 and published in 1931. It is hand signed and numbered 7/99 in red brush f...
Category

Other Art Style Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Original Frestelsernas Gata - Street of Temptations deco vintage movie poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Swedish movie poster: Frestelsernas Gata, art deco, linen-backed movie poster. Very fine condition. This was an American film released in 1925. There is also a reference to the American name of the movie as Street of Temptations. This poster is 100 years old and in very good condition. Original theater-issued fold marks were restored at the time of linen backing. FRESTELSERNAS GATA started in this 1925 movie. Swedish translation: "The Street of Temptations" (Swedish; 'Frestelsernas' = 'of temptations', 'gata' = 'street') Dorothy Devore, an American actress born in 1899, is known for "The Narrow Street," "How Baxter Butted In," and "A Broadway Butterfly." A Broadway Butterfly is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine. A Broadway Butterfly. Film still. Directed by William Beaudine. This is an original 100-year-old vintage silent movie poster.
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Vegetable and Bugs - Print - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Vegetable and bugs is a  phototype print on paper realized in the late 20th Century by a Unknown Chinese Master. Monogrammed on plate on the left margin The artist want to define a ...
Category

Contemporary Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Photogravure

Demeter of Cnidos British Museum Roman Classical sculpture photogravure
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
'Demeter of Cnidos' Photogravure from a collection of photogravures depicting Greek and Roman marbles and bronzes in the British museum. Plate number above top right corner of the i...
Category

Other Art Style Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Photogravure

Pêcheurs de crevettes, Impressionist Lithograph by Raoul Dufy
Located in Long Island City, NY
Raoul Dufy, French (1877 - 1953) - Pecheurs de crevettes, Portfolio: Album La Mer, Year: 1925, Medium: Lithograph on BFK Rives, signed in pencil, Image Size: 13.25 x 17.25 inches...
Category

Impressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Erotic Scene - Héliogravure by Micheal Von Zichy - 1911
Located in Roma, IT
Erotic scene is an original Héliogravure artwork on ivory-colored paper, realized by Micheal Von Zichy in 1911. Printed in only 300 copies, Leipzig; Privatdruck, from the Catalogue "Liebe" (Dear), Text in German on the plate, The drawing created unusually bold erotic subjects through deft strokes. Good conditions. Mihály Zichy...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Engraving

Little Horses, Bathers and Seashell..., Impressionist Lithograph by Raoul Dufy
Located in Long Island City, NY
Raoul Dufy, French (1877 - 1953) - Little Horses, Bathers and Seashell Petits Chevaux, Baigneuses et Coquillage, Portfolio: Album La Mer, Year: 1925, Medium: Lithograph, signed an...
Category

Impressionist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Evening, Port of Genoa
Located in Storrs, CT
Evening, Port of Genoa. 1915. Drypoint. Dodgson 337.i/v. 7 5/8 x 9 15/16 (sheet 9 1/8 x 14). Edition of 45 in five states. An exceptionally rich impression with drypoint burr, printe...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint

Ex Libris J. Dalmau - Etching by Luis Garcia Falgàs - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Etching and drypoint realized by Luis Garcia Falgàs (1881-1954) in the early 20th Century. Not signed. Very good condition.
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Rodin, Composition, Douze aquarelles de Auguste Rodin (after)
Located in Auburn Hills, MI
Lithograph and stencil on vélin paper. Paper Size: 12.2 x 15 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Douze aquarelles de Auguste Ro...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph, Stencil

Klimt, Schloss Kammer am Attersee, 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: 11.77 x 11.85 inches. Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the f...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Martigny, Vosges
Located in Naples, Florida
Lucien Marie François Métivet (January 19, 1863 - July 16, 1932) [2] was a French poster artist, cartoonist, illustrator, and author who achieved notoriety during the Belle Epoque. B...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Steamboat Odin Dampfer Odin - German Expressionism Woodcut Inscribed
Located in London, GB
LYONEL FEININGER 1871-1956 1871 - New York - 1956 (American/German) Title: Steamboat Odin Dampfer Odin, 1918 Technique: Original Hand Signed and Inscribed Woodcut on Laid Japan Pa...
Category

Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Le Nid de Pauvres, Vendee (shelter for the Poor, Vendee)
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and drypoint on cream laid paper, 7 3/4 x 8 inches (195 x 200 mm), full margins. Signed and numbered 8/35 in pencil, lower right margin. Laid down to non archival board, mat ...
Category

French School Early 20th Century Figurative Prints

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

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