Max Liebermann (1847-1935), In the Kitchen (In Der Kuche), soft ground etching and drypoint, 1890, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Schiefler 6, second state (of 2). In very good condition, printed on a cream laid paper with full margins, 4 3/8 x 3 1/8, the sheet 11  7/8 x 9 3/8 inches.

A fine impression of this rather rare and early etching, printed in a black/brownish ink.

This small composition is reminiscent of both Millet and Liebermann’s Impressionist contemporary Pissarro; of course Liebermann was known at the time as a German “impressionist.”  In the print a farm woman works on some laundry as a child in a rather elaborate wheeled high chair sits across from her.

Liebermann made his earliest etching in 1876, and had some lessons in printmaking after that, but it was not until 1890, under the tutelage of Dutch etcher Jan Veth, that his interest in printmaking truly developed, as he learned the technique of soft-ground etching. In the Kitchen is one of these early ventures.  In the period from 1890-1892 he made 21 soft ground etchings, 18 of which were published by the Berlin Photographische Gesellschaft; In the Kitchen was included in this portfolio.  Carey and Griffith (The Print in Germany: 1880-1933) note that this portfolio was not a commercial success, but, although Liebermann was to continue printmaking over the course of his career, this early portfolio “contains almost all his best prints.”

]]> http://harrisschrank.com/in-the-kitchen.htm/feed 0 http://harrisschrank.com/kellergarten-in-rosenheim-cellar-garden-in-rosenheim.htm http://harrisschrank.com/kellergarten-in-rosenheim-cellar-garden-in-rosenheim.htm#comments Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:42:07 +0000 Harris Schrank http://harrisschrank.com/?p=447 Max Liebermann (1847-1935), Kellergarten in Rosenheim (Cellar Garden in Rosenheim), etching, 1895, signed in pencil lower right, also numbered 49 in blue crayon, and with the PAN blindstamp (Lugt 2011a); as published in PAN. Reference: Schiefler 35, fourth state (of 4). In very good condition, on a firm cream/tan wove paper with full margins, 7 x 9, the sheet 14 3/8 x 11 inches, archival matting. Provenance: Collection of Norman Kraeft A fine impression, printed in black on a cream/tan paper, with plate tone at the top and bottom of the composition, wiped more cleanly at the center. A Liebermann [...]]]>

Max Liebermann (1847-1935), Kellergarten in Rosenheim (Cellar Garden in Rosenheim), etching, 1895, signed in pencil lower right, also numbered 49 in blue crayon, and with the PAN blindstamp (Lugt 2011a); as published in PAN. Reference: Schiefler 35, fourth state (of 4). In very good condition, on a firm cream/tan wove paper with full margins, 7 x 9, the sheet 14 3/8 x 11 inches, archival matting.

Provenance: Collection of Norman Kraeft

A fine impression, printed in black on a cream/tan paper, with plate tone at the top and bottom of the composition, wiped more cleanly at the center.

A Liebermann painting of the same subject (in reverse) is known as Biergarten zu Brannenburg (Beergarden at Brannenburg), or also Wirtshausgarten (Tavern) in Brannenburg. (This title would seem to be more accurate than the conventional title for the etching, since the men are drinking outside rather than in a cellar. Brannenburg is a town in the Bavarian district of Rosenheim, so there’s no great dispute as to the location of this beer drinking.)

Max Liebermann made a number of prints in the early 1890′s as he developed a reputation as the most prominent of the German “impressionists.” During this period he used soft ground etching and drypoint to create atmospheric effects. In Kellergarten he moved away from soft ground, but there are signs of drypoint, and even the use of sulphur to achieve the speckled quality of the tones in the foreground; these techniques, the careful wiping of the plate, and the tannish paper all give this proof the sense that nightfall is near.

$1250