Am Bache. By the Stream. Liegender Frauenakt. Nude Lying Down by Karl Otto Czeschka, 1878-1960

Karl Otto Czeschka, 1878-1960
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Am Bache. By the Stream. Liegender Frauenakt. Nude Lying Down

Original woodcut in two colours. 1919. Signed with the monogram in the block and dated 1919. From the only edition issued for the: ' Freunde Graphische Kunst', Leipzig, 1919. Rare.

Brilliant crisp contrasty impression. On mid cream smooth wove or simulated japan paper. Excellent condition. Full margins. Sheet: 15 5/8 x 21 7/8 ins. Block: 12 3/4 x 18 1/2ins (324x470mm).

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Karl Czeschka?s earliest period was spent in Vienna in the circle of Klimt, Schiele and under the influence of Art Nouveau. At first a painter he later began to concentrate on applied design especially in the field of silver, working first with the Wienerwerkstätte and then in Berlin and Leipzig. Few prints by him are known; This work was commissioned from him for the ?Friends of Graphic Art - Freunde Graphische Kunst? in Leipzig in 1919. Impressions are only ever signed with the monogram in the block, as here.

Am Bache is an evocative and fascinating image. It shows Czeschka?s links both to Art Nouveau and the decadence of Vienna in the early 1900?s and, especially in the stylised forms of the flowing water of the stream, also looks forward to the shapes and rhythms of Art Deco. The use of the reversed ?white line from black?, together with the beige tone-block, gives the image a quality of crispness and ?style? which is visually very effective.