Berlin - Prints and Multiples

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

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...

Johannes Heisig (*1953 Leipzig), "Threatening to defeat me once and for all" - To the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach. Lithograph on strong yellowish laid paper with wate...

Gérard Edelinck (1640 Antwerp - 1707 Paris), Joan of Austria, 1707. Copperplate engraving, 51.2 cm x 29.8 cm, inscribed below the image: "Jeanne d'Autriche Grande Duchesse de Toscane...

Klaus Fußmann (*1938 Velbert), Gladioli, 1983. Color etching, WVZ 116.5, 14.5 cm x 18.5 cm (image), 20 cm x 21 cm (sheet size), signed “Fuß[mann]” in pencil lower right and dated (?)...

Decorative, abstract lithograph, signed and numbered, 67/90 MANRIQUE Dimensions with frame.

Johann Friedrich Bause (1738 Halle a. d. Saale - 1814 Weimar). Half-length portrait of a man with beard and cap after a drawing by Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich. Etching and coppe...

Rudolf Hayder (active in the 1st half of the 20th century), Heron. Color woodcut on thin Japanese paper, 24 x 29 cm (image), 29 x 36 cm (sheet size), signed by hand at lower right "R. Hayder" and titled by hand as "Reiher". Lower left inscribed by hand "Orig.[inal] woodcut, hand print". - A little bit stained in the margins and very occasionally in the image, minimal hole above the signature, traces of creasing. At the back side's margins with remnants of an old mounting. About the artwork In the context of French Japonism, the color woodblock print, which was widespread in the Asian region, was rediscovered for Western art. The artists of the time, such as Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh, were inspired not only by the cultural influence, but also by the two-dimensionality of the pictorial spaces. Thus, color woodcuts became an important moment in the development of the modern pictorial concept founded by Impressionism. In Rudolf Hayder's "Herons", too, the two-dimensionality of the pictorial space is decisive for the pictorial effect. The herons, surrounded by reeds, are framed by the yellow background of the lake, followed by the dark blue-greenish stripe of the opposite shore and, above it, the sky in a lighter blue-green. Formally, it is a sequence of planes, but the two-dimensionality of the motif creates a spatial effect. This spatiality in the surface creates an intense pictorial effect. Hayder intensifies this effect with the blazing lake. In terms of color, the water becomes a sunset. The yellow turns reddish brown toward the shore, then fades to brownish red, while the shore is a watery turquoise...

Otmar Alt, abstract art print, hand signed and numbered. Dimensions with frame. Includes certificate of authenticity.

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

Heinrich Haberl (1869 Passau to 1934 Munich), Sturmhaube, c. 1900. drypoint, 14 x 10 cm (platemark), 28 x 21 cm (sheet size), 39 x 29 cm (passe-partout), titled "Sturmhaube" in lead at lower left and inscribed "Kaltnadelradierung", signed and locally inscribed "Heinrich Haberl Mchn. [Munich]" at lower right, inscribed again in lead on verso and with old collection stamp. - slightly darkened, fixed and mounted - The target in sight - About the artwork The theatrical "role-portrait" is to be seen against the background of the Rembrandt cult, which reached its climax at the end of the 19th century. The soldier seems to have stepped straight out of Rembrandt's Night Watch (1642) to fix something outside the picture with an alert and ready gaze. The steeply rising brim of the morion frames the gaze and thus perspectivises it as the actual 'pictorial action'. The gaze represents both the vigilant defence and the visionary goal of the battle. Not only the subject, but also the style of the etching needle reflect Rembrandt's understanding of the times. Strong contrasts of light and dark are created in a virtuoso free stroke, without losing the effect of the reflections on the helmet and in the eyes. This shows a kinship with the early prints of Lovis Corinth, who also saw himself as an artist in the role of the knight. Against this background, Haberl's picture can also be seen as a representation of his artistic self-image. About the artist Heinrich Haberl first attended the art school in Nuremberg and from 1892 studied at the Munich Academy. There he was a master student of Johann Leonhard von Raab, Rudolf von Seitz, Franz von Defregger...

Original lithograph. Allen Jones "High Society". From first owner. Numbered and signed. Dimensions including original frame.