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Karl Schmidt-Rotluff , German, 1884-1976

Title

Bei den Netzen

Date1914

MediumWoodcut on paper

Dimensions

Image: 40 x 49.5 cm

Sheet: 50.8 x 61.5 cm

Signedlower right (in graphite): S-Rottluff

Credit LinePurchased, 2017

Object numberNGI.2017.17

DescriptionKarl Schmidt, an important German Expressionist artist and one of the founders of the Die Brücke, was born and educated in Rottluff, a town in Saxony. ‘At the Nets’, created in 1914, is the fifth of a set of ten woodcuts from his portfolio entitled 'Zehn Holzschnitte von Schmidt-Rottluff' (Ten Woodcuts by Schmidt-Rottluff) published in 1919 by J. B. Neumann, Berlin. 1914 was a prolific year for Schmidt-Rottluff, that summer he travelled to Hohwacht on the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein where he created some 50 woodcuts. They stand among his most impressive prints and connect with his belief in the timelessness of nature and work. This print is typical of his monumental treatment of figures. It illustrates how brilliantly he exploited the inherent qualities of wood, the surface irregularities and natural grain. The printer of this limited unnumbered edition of 75 (plus some proofs) was Fritz Voigt.
ProvenanceCollection of Wilhelm Burkamp (1879-1939), Rostock Germany; after WWII, the print was appropriated by the Government of the German Democratic Republic; returned to Burkamp’s heir by the Re-Unified German Government, 1996; purchased as part of a portfolio by Frederick Mulder Ltd, 21 Belsize Park, London