KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF 1884-1976
Rottluff, Germany 1884 – 1976 Berlin (German)
Title: By the Nets | Bei den Netzen, 1914
Technique: Original Hand Signed Woodcut on Laid Paper
Paper size: 51.2 x 62.4 cm. / 20.2 x 24.6 in.
Additional Information: This original woodcut is hand signed in pencil by the artist “S. Rottluff” at the lower right margin.
This is the fifth woodcut of the portfolio “Zehn Holzschnitte von Schmidt-Rottluff” [Ten Woodcuts by Schmidt-Rottluff] that was published in 1919.
It was published by Graphisches Kabinett J. B. Neumann, Berlin in a limited unnumbered edition of 75 plus some proofs.
The printer was Fritz Voigt, Berlin.
Other impressions of this work can be found in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York and the de Young Fine Art Museums, San Francisco.
Note:
It was in 1905, whilst in Dresden and enrolled on an architecture course that Karl Schmidt-Rottluff began to experiment with the woodcut technique. The technique itself is synonymous with Germanic artistic traditions. The tactile essence and fragility of the medium as well as the reductive nature of carving in relief was likely a habitual calm for the artist’s nerves during his time on the Eastern front and following his return to Berlin. Whilst the material may be soft and conquerable, the stark black inked images are robust, sharp and dominant. The artist’s own response to the war can be seen clearly even in mundane scenes of civilian life. Schmidt-Rottluff proclaimed, “I really feel pressure to create something that is as strong as possible. The war has really swept away everything from the past.” His woodcuts embody this resilient spirit.
Literature: Schapire, R. & Rathenau, E. (1987). Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Das Graphische Werk Bis 1923. Berlin: Vormals Euphorion Verlag.
Reference: Schapire 165.
Condition: Very good condition. Some tape remains, verso.
KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF 1884-1976
Rottluff, Germany 1884 – 1976 Berlin (German)
Title: Girl’s Head I Mädchenkopf, 1920
Technique: Original Hand Signed Etching on Wove Paper
Paper size: 36.6 x 27.9 cm. / 14.4 x 11 in.
Image size: 23.8 x 17.5 cm. / 9.4 x 7 in.
Additional Information: This original etching is hand signed in pencil by the artist “S. Rottluff” at the lower right margin.
It is also inscribed with the artist’s Werknummer [work number] “2013” at the lower left margin.
It was printed by Fritz Voigt, Berlin in 1920.
Literature: Schapire, R. & Rathenau, E. (1987). Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Das Graphische Werk Bis 1923. Berlin: Vormals Euphorion Verlag.
Reference: Schapire R. 30
Condition: Very good condition. Very pale moisture staining along the left sheet edge. The right margin unevenly trimmed.
KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF 1884-1976
Rottluff, Germany 1884 – 1976 Berlin (German)
Title: Russian Forest | Russisches Wald, 1918
Technique: Original Hand Signed Woodcut on Wove Paper
Paper size: 35.5 x 53.1 cm. / 14 x 20.9 in.
Image size: 20.1 x 26.1 cm. / 7.9 x 10.3 in.
Additional Information: This original woodcut is hand signed in pencil by the artist “S. Rottluff” at the lower right margin.
The printer was Fritz Voigt, Berlin.
The sheet bears the work number [Werknummer] 1829.
Note:
It was in 1905, whilst in Dresden and enrolled on an architecture course that Karl Schmidt-Rottluff began to experiment with the woodcut technique. The technique itself is synonymous with Germanic artistic traditions. The tactile essence and fragility of the medium as well as the reductive nature of carving in relief was likely a habitual calm for the artist’s nerves during his time on the Eastern front and following his return to Berlin. Whilst the material may be soft and conquerable, the stark black inked images are robust, sharp and dominant. The artist’s own response to the war can be seen clearly even in mundane scenes of civilian life. Schmidt-Rottluff proclaimed, “I really feel pressure to create something that is as strong as possible. The war has really swept away everything from the past.” His woodcuts embody this resilient spirit.
Literature: Schapire, R. & Rathenau, E. (1987). Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Das Graphische Werk Bis 1923. Berlin: Vormals Euphorion Verlag.
Reference: Schapire H. 230.
Condition: Very good condition. Pinpoint foxing across the sheet. Soft creasing across the sheet. Some tape remains, verso.
KARL SCHMIDT-ROTTLUFF 1884-1976
Rottluff, Germany 1884 – 1976 Berlin (German)
Title: Landscape with Sun I Landschaft mit Sonne, 1915
Technique: Original Hand Signed Drypoint on Etching Board
Paper size: 33.6 x 42.8 cm. / 13.2 x 16.9 in.
Image size: 18.9 x 22.7 cm. / 7.4 x 10.9 in.
Additional Information: This original drypoint is hand signed in pencil by the artist “S. Rottluff” at the lower right margin. It is also dated by the artist “1915” in pencil at the lower right margin. It is also inscribed with the work number “156” at the centre of the lower margin.
Note: This is an extremely rare drypoint, with only one other impression coming to the open market in recent years, Provenance: The Collection of Wilhelm Niemeyer
Note: The art historian and poet Wilhelm Niemeyer (1874-1960) built one of the finest and most comprehensive collection of works by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff ever assembled, including paintings, prints and decorative art objects. A visitor to Niemeyer’s flat in Hartwicusstrasse in Hamburg later described what he had seen: ‘Who ever entered the flat […] had the chance to experience the power of images. A dark corridor led into a suite of three large, elegantly furnished rooms. On the walls painted in light-grey, perl-grey and dark green glowed the most beautiful early Schmidt-Rottluff’s ever to be united in a private collection.’ (Wietek, Schmidt-Rottluff in Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, p. 14 ff.) This collection also included the complete graphic works of Schmidt-Rottluff from 1906 to 1921.
Wilhelm Niemeyer along with Rosa Schapire worked closely with Karl Schmid-Rottluff to further the merits of German Expressionism through both graphic and literary works. This was manifest in the foundation of Die Kündung at the Art Federation of Hamburg (Kunstbund Hamburg). This impression was formerly in the Collection of Wilhelm Niemeyer and is in magnificent condition considering the age of the work and the type of etching card used. It was produced six years before the inaugural edition of Die Kündung. Niemeyer’s collection was not simply amassed – it was the result of a ten-year relationship between the artist and the collector. Each purchase was preceded by long and penetrating conversations between two intelligent and intense personalities.
The collection concludes with work from 1921, a year that saw the closest collaboration between artist and collector. Schmidt-Rottluff worked on the design of the expressionist magazine Kündung, and painted a portrait of his patron (now in the Nationalgalerie, Berlin) which he also turned into a woodcut. But, tragically, Niemeyer rejected the portrait and the friendship ended abruptly and in bitterness.
Literature: Schapire, R. & Rathenau, E. (1987). Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: Das Graphische Werk Bis 1923. Berlin: Vormals Euphorion Verlag.
