Werner Klemke

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

Jörg Olberg (*1956 Dresden), Agony, 1987. etching, E.A. (edition of 30), 24 x 17 cm (image), 46 x 37 cm (sheet), each signed in pencil lower right "Olberg" and dated "IX [19]87", inscribed lower left "E.A. [Epreuve d'Artiste]". - minimal crease and dust stains in the broad margin - The architecture of decay - About the artwork Jörg Olberg draws here the sum of his artistic study of the Berlin ruins, which were still present in the cityscape well into the 80s. With his work "Agony" he creates an allegory of decay. Positioned in the landscape of ruins, a ruined house grows before the viewer, rising like the Tower of Babel into the sky, its roof and gable brightly illuminated by the sun. But already the roof shows mostly only the rafters, and as the gaze is drawn further down, the building visibly disintegrates, the beams protruding in all directions looking like splintered bones. Slowly but inexorably - in agony - the house will collapse in on itself and become nothing more than the burial mound of itself. At the same time, the small-scale stone composition and the plaster form a pattern-like ornamentation of decay. The tension in the picture is fed by the counter-movement of growth and collapse, which is heightened by the dramatic formation of clouds. The swirls of clouds are reminiscent of a world landscape...

Hans Thoma (1839 Bernau - 1924 Karlsruhe), Southern German summer landscape, around 1897. Algraph on strong wove paper, published by Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig as ‘Zeitgenössisc...

Hans Thoma (1839 Bernau - 1924 Karlsruhe), At the pond, 1897. Algraph on strong wove paper, published by Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig as ‘Zeitgenössisches Kunstblatt Nr. 148’, 23....

A peaceful image by Britian's first official war artist. Drypoint printed in brownish black ink on fibrous, laid Japon paper, 3 3/8 x 6 5/16 inches (85 x 161 mm), full margins. Sign...

Circa 1960. Etching and engraving on cream laid paper, 5 3/4 x 4 inches (141 x 102 mm), margins. Scattered light areas of spotty discoloration in the margins, minor mat tone. Four mi...

Wonderful etching, originally page 365 in a book De L'amerique by Alain Manesson Mallet, circa 1683, depicts the artist's concept of the appearance and activities of the native occupants of America in graphic detail. Unsigned. Displayed in a black and giltwood frame. Image, 6.5"H x 4.5"L. 1683 Manesson Mallet "Bresiliens" Amerindians, Indigenous Native Brazilians, Brazil, South America, Antique Print...

Charming early 20th century chromolithograph of young Dutch girls with their older instructor titled, "Dutch Girls" by Bernhardt T. Wall (American, 1889-195...