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Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

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Period: Early 20th Century
Portrait
Located in New York, NY
Jean-Emile Laboureur (1877-1943), Portrait, 1917, engraving, signed in pencil lower left and numbered lower right (28/40). Reference: S. Laboureur 170, third state (of 3), from the e...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Le Marché aux Puces
Located in Middletown, NY
Published in Paris by Chalcographie Louvre around 1910. Drypoint etching on buff wove paper, 7 x 11 inches (175 x 278 mm) full margins. With the "Musée Louvre Chalcographie" blind st...
Category

French School Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Handmade Paper, Drypoint, Etching

Saint Moritz, Switzerland
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Saint Moritz, Switzerland" 1922 is an original color etching by Austrian artist Luigi Kasimir 1881-1962. It is hand signed in pencil at the lower center by the ...
Category

Realist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

NANIGOS - CUBA, 1927
Located in Portland, ME
Yunkers, Adja (American, born Latvia, 1900-1983). NANIGOS - CUBA, 1927. Miller 1. Color Woodcut. Edition of 250 published in Sweden in 1942 in the magazine Creation (Miller notes an ...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Vienna Opera House
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Vienna Opera House" 1922 is a color etching by Austrian artist Luigi Kasimir 1881-1962. It is estate signed in pencil at the lo...
Category

Realist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

La coupe de fruits
Located in Belgrade, MT
Maria Sanmartin-Bodegon started painting in 1947. She was encouraged by her son Antoni Clave' who also was a great painter. She exhibited in salons throughout Europe including Paris,...
Category

Abstract Expressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ceramic, Paint, Lithograph

Spanish Woman with Guitar
Located in New York, NY
Jan Matulka (1890-1972), Spanish Woman with Guitar, lithograph, 1925, an unsigned proof impression. Reference: Flint 13, only a few impressions known...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Internationaler Sport Club München by Paul Bruno, Cycling advertisement, c. 1902
Located in Chicago, IL
Lithographic poster for Paul Bruno’s cycling and polo advertisement, Internationaler Sport Club München. This work was published in 1902 by Fritz Maison, Mu...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Edward Bawden, Modern British art, Kew Gardens
Located in Harkstead, GB
A wonderful image by one of the great modern masters of English art, depicting a whimsical pastiche of Kew Gardens. Edward Bawden (1903-1989) Kew Gardens Signed, titled and numbered 36/40 Engraving 17 x 10.5 cm Edward Bawden was a watercolourist, illustrator, designer, printmaker and teacher, born in Braintree, Essex, the county in which he spent much of his life, finally living in Saffron Walden. Studied at Cambridge School of Art from 1919, then at Royal College of Art, 1922-5, on a scholarship, in the design school being taught by Paul Nash. Soon began on commercial work for Poole Pottery and Curwen Press, then in 1928-9 with Eric Ravilious and Charles Mahoney did decorations for Morley College. Bawden went on studying engraving and bookbinding at Central School Arts and Crafts after leaving the Royal College and himself taught there, the Royal Academy Schools and Goldsmiths' College School of Art. First one-man show at Zwemmer Gallery in 1934, after which he showed extensively including RA, being elected RA in 1956. Work poured from Bawden's studio in the 1930s, for companies such as Shell-Mex; book illustrations such as Good Food, 1932, and The Week-end Book, 1939; and a mass of often ephemeral work which evinced a wonderful wit, economy and aptness to subject. Official War Artist in World War II, much of his output being in the Imperial War Museum. Tate Gallery and many other public collections hold his work. Bawden did decorations for the SS Orcades and Oronsay and for the Unicorn Pavilion for the Festival of Britain of 1951. His son was the artist Richard Bawden...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Engraving

1917 original exhibition poster by M. Leroy La Guerre et les Humoristes
Located in PARIS, FR
The original poster by M. Leroy, titled "La Guerre et les Humoristes," serves as a poignant reflection of the intersection between art and the tumultuous events of World War I. Creat...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph, Paper, Linen

Portrait After David - Original Etching by Albert Lepreux - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The portrait " D'apres David" is an original etching print on paper realized by Albert Lepreux (1868-1959). Included a Passepartout: 25 x 16 cm. Titled...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Etching

Black Magic
Located in New York, NY
Gerald Geerlings (1897-1998), Black Magic, etching and aquatint, 1929, signed in pencil lower right, titled and annotated (New York, 1928) lower left margi...
Category

American Impressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Circa 1925 original advertising poster for Molinari et Vautrin Dattes Muscades
Located in PARIS, FR
The circa 1925 original advertising poster for Molinari et Vautrin, "Dattes Muscades," is a striking example of early 20th-century commercial art, combining vibrant colors and appeal...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Linen, Lithograph

Water lLily
Located in Santa Monica, CA
HENRIETTA SHORE (1880 -1963) WATER LILY c. 1928 Lithograph, signed and titled in pencil and with the pencil cypher of printer Lynton Kistler (K). Image 7 x 6 1/8, full margins, shee...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Les Bars
Located in Wilton, CT
A very fine copy of "Les Bars," an album of ten original etchings by the master Lobel-Riche, representing fashionable women in various Parisian social settings. This album, part of a...
Category

Art Nouveau Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

"Männlicher Kopf" original woodcut
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original woodcut. Printed in Germany in 1917 for Die Aktion; this impression is from the deluxe edition of 100 on Bütten laid paper. Catalogue reference: Schapire 202. Image ...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Richard Earlom After Jan Van Huysum, Still Life With Flowers
By Richard Earlom
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This beautiful early 20th-century aquatint is after an 18th-century engraving by Richard Earlom (1743-1822) of a work by the Dutch master, Jan Van Huysum...
Category

Dutch School Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Aquatint, Paper

Riva San Giuliano
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching with drypoint on cream laid paper with a deckle edge, 7 7/8 x 13 1/8 inches ( 200 x 334 mm), full margins. Signed and numbered 27/100 in pencil in the lower margin. With two ...
Category

French School Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Handmade Paper, Drypoint, Etching

India Landscape Etching Original 1917 Limited Edition Signed Listed Artist Rare
Located in Norfolk, GB
Ernest Stephen Lumsden RE, RSA (1883 – 1948) Enthusiast Image Size: 15cm x 30 cm Sheet size: 21.5 cm x 35 cm Mounted: 50cm x 41 cm Lumsden reference: 254 Edition 33/50 Whatman ...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Etching

Sketch for the Parliament Hall “Thanatos and the Enigma” - 1900s - Drawing
Located in Roma, IT
Original drawing, pencil on paper. A wonderful sketch for the frieze for Parliament Hall in Montecitorio Palace, in Rome. Good conditions except for a diffused foxing, including a w...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink

Ex Libris - PF - Original Woodcut by M. Fingesten - Early 1900
Located in Roma, IT
Ex Libris - PF is an original xilograph artwork realized by Michel Fingesten in the 1930s Hand-signed on the lower center. Hand-written note on the lower center. Good conditions. Includes passepartout: 30 x 24 cm Ex Libris is a Latin phrase meaning a bookplate that identifies the owner of the book into which it is pasted. Michel Fingesten (Butzkowitz, 1884 - Cerisano, 1943) was a Czech painter...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

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;...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Engraving

"Figürliche Komposition" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. This striking composition was published in 1921 for Genius. Sheet size: 13 1/4 x 9 7/8 inches (340 x 250 mm) on wove paper. This original Archipenko prin...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Odalisque à la culotte de satin rouge
Located in London, GB
Henri Matisse Odalisque à la culotte de satin rouge 1925 Lithograph on Chine paper, Edition of 50 Paper size: 28.5 x 36.5 cms (11 1/4 x 14 3/8 ins) Image size: 19 x 27 cms (7 1/2 x 1...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Nude and Swan
Located in New York, NY
Woodcut on paper, 1921. Signed by the artist, numbered 13/24, dated, titled "Lead'r" and dedicated "To Rose - Nat - be careful" in pencil, lower margin. The dedicatees named by E...
Category

American Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Frau H.M. Naila signed original woodcut
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original woodcut. Signed in pencil. Catalogue reference: Hofmaier 282 IV BB. Printed in Germany in 1923 for the very rare Kunst der Gegenwart portfolio, published in Munich b...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Siebengebirge, circa 1920s Etching, Germany, Tugboat
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
Hans Füsser (German, 1898-1959) Signed: Hans Füsser (Lower, Right) " Siebengebirge ", circa 1920s Etching Plate Size: 6 1/4" x 8 1/2" Housed in a 1/2" Frame Overall Size: 12 3/...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

Manhattan Excavation, Signed Etching by David Muirhead Bone
Located in Long Island City, NY
Manhattan Excavation David Muirhead Bone, Scottish (1876–1953) Etching on wove paper, signed in pencil lower right Image Size: 12.25 x 10.25 inches Size: 18 x 13 in. (45.72 x 33.02 cm)
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

"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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

"Le Beffroi de Douai" etching
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: etching. Etched by Favier after Corot. Printed in Paris by Chardon Wittmann on cream wove paper and published in 1911 by the Revue de l'art ancien ...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

"Dame a la Toque", fabulous drypoint etching by Paul Cesar Helleu
Located in Hinsdale, IL
HELLEU, PAUL CÉSAR (1859 - 1927) "La Dame a la Toque" (Lady in Fur Hat) Montesquiou XXXVI, c. 1906 Drypoint printed in colors on pale cream wove paper Sig...
Category

Post-Impressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint

The Man in Love, from: Masters Portfolio of the Staatliches Bauhaus - German
Located in London, GB
This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Klee" at the lower right margin. Our impression is from the third and final state of this lithograph which...
Category

Bauhaus Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Pastel, 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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

Amer Picon Poster 1910 by Bouchet Woman with Orange Peel
Located in Boca Raton, FL
In this poster, we see an orange peel transform into a beautiful woman who offers the viewer a taste of Amer Picon. It is interesting to note that the image...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Art Deco Landscape : The Bridge in Brittain - Original wooodcut, Handsigned
Located in Paris, IDF
Alfred LATOUR (1888-1964) Art Deco Landscape : The Bridge in Brittain, 1928 Original woodcut Handsigned in pencil Numbered /160 On vellum 32.5 x 25.5 cm (c. 13 x 10 in) Bears the bl...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

"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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

Jockey Before the Horse Race - Original wooodcut, Handsigned & numbered /160
Located in Paris, IDF
Pierre LISSAC (1878-1955) Jockey Before the Horse Race, 1926 Original woodcut Handsigned in pencil Numbered /160 On vellum 32.5 x 25.5 cm (c. 13 x 10 in) Bears the blind stamp of th...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

(after) Amedeo Modigliani "Jeune femme en chemise"
By Amedeo Modigliani
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the painting). Printed in 1926 at the Leon Marotte atelier and published in an edition of 1000 by Editions des Quatre Chemins. Image size: 8 x 5 1/4 inches (...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Photogravure

Mythological Hunting - Original wooodcut, Handsigned & Numbered
Located in Paris, IDF
Camille BELTRAND (1877-1951) Mythological Hunting, 1920 Original woodcut Handsigned in pencil Numbered /105 On vellum 32.5 x 25.5 cm (c. 13 x 10 in) Bears the blind stamp of the edi...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

(after) Amedeo Modigliani "Le peintre Soutine"
By Amedeo Modigliani
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the painting). Printed in 1926 at the Leon Marotte atelier and published in an edition of 1000 by Editions des Quatre Chemins. Image size: 8 x 5 inches (206 ...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Photogravure

RUE ST. JACQUES
Located in Portland, ME
Marsh, Reginald (American, 1898-1954) RUE ST. JACQUES. S.5 Lithograph, 1928. Edition of 36 per Sasowsky, citing Marsh's notebook, but inscribed, lower left, "35 Proofs," and signed in pencil, lower right. 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, 317 x 215 mm. (image). One of the series of lithographs...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Alkyd, Lithograph

"Cherry Tree in Bloom" 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...
Category

Symbolist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

"He Made Fun of Hindenburg" original lithograph
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Printed in 1920 on smooth wove paper for the Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart portfolio, and published in Leipzig by Klinkhardt & Biermann in an edition ...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Rose" collotype print
Located in Chicago, IL
DAS WERK GUSTAV KLIMTS, a portfolio of 50 prints, ten of which are multicolor collotypes on chine colle paper laid down on hand-made heavy cream wove paper wi...
Category

Vienna Secession Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

"Un rideau" original drypoint
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching and drypoint. This impression on wove paper was printed in 1904 and published in Paris by the Revue de l'Art ancien et moderne. Plate size: 6 5/8 x 4 3/4 inc...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Schnackenberg-Ausstellung 1914""
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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Shadows & Light"
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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Consee"
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...
Category

Expressionist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

"Femme nue a sa toilette" original etching
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching. Catalogue reference: Delteil 166. Printed in Paris and published in 1911 by Gazette des Beaux Arts. Plate size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches (140 x 109 mm). A rich,...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Fabriques de Geneve Original Vintage French Art Poster by Hem 1922
By R. Hem
Located in Boca Raton, FL
The Fabriques de Geneve is a charming poster created for a jewelry store that specialized in engagement and bridal presents. The poster uses the cameo of an engagement ring to show t...
Category

Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

'Improvisation 7' second ed. woodcut from 'Klänge' by Wassily Kandinsky
Located in Milwaukee, WI
'Improvisation 7' second ed. woodcut from 'Klänge' is a woodcut print created by Wassily Kandinsky. The present woodcut print comes from the second edition of 'Klänge (Sounds),' a book of original graphics and poetry by Wassily Kandinsky. The title of the album and of this print, 'Improvisation,' demonstrated Kandinsky's interest in music and how abstract musical forms could be translated into images on a two-dimensional surface. This particular composition is difficult to read, but through the abstraction, one can make out various figures and a landscape beyond. Originally carved and printed in 1911, this second edition print was done ca. 1938. It is a woodcut in black ink on woven paper. Signed with encircled 'K' in the block, lower right (from the book, signed in ink, ed. 117/300) Image Size: 7 1/2" x 5 inches Frame Size: 22 1/4" x 18 3/4" Ref. Roethel 124 Artist Bio: The Museum of Modern Art described 'Klänge (Sounds)' as follows: Vasily Kandinsky's self-described "musical album," Klänge (Sounds), consists of thirty-eight prose-poems he wrote between 1909 and 1911 and fifty-six woodcuts he began in 1907. In the woodcuts Kandinsky veiled his subject matter, creating increasingly indecipherable images (though the horse and rider, his symbol for overcoming objective representation, runs through as a leitmotif). This process proved crucial for the development of abstraction in his art. Kandinsky said his choice of media sprang from an "inner necessity" for expression: the woodcuts were not merely illustrative, nor were the poems purely verbal descriptions. Kandinsky sought a synthesis of the arts, in which meaning was created through the interaction of, and space between, text and image, sound and meaning, mark and blank space. The experimental typography shows his interest in the physical aspects of the book. Klänge is one of three major publications by Kandinsky that appeared shortly before World War I, alongside Über die Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art) and the Blaue Reiter almanac...
Category

Blue Rider Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut, Laid Paper

Rest, Two Nudes with Greyhounds - Original wooodcut, Handsigned & Numbered
Located in Paris, IDF
Henri Clement-Serveau Rest, Two Nudes with Greyhounds, 1929 Original woodcut Handsigned in pencil Numbered /160 On Perrigot vellum 32.5 x 25.5 cm (c. 13 x 10 in) Bears the blind sta...
Category

Modern Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

"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...
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Symbolist Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

Humanic
By Mihaly Biro
Located in New York, NY
Humanic, Wien, 1924. Color lithograph. Ref: Plakat. 01 Kuntsler Mihaly Biro p. 97 pl 153. Biró is internationally considered as the founder of the political poster art, he is ...
Category

Art Deco Early 20th Century Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

"Head of an Italian Woman" 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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

"William Tell" 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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper

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