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German Expressionism

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  • Max Klinger. Bear and Elf (Bär und Elfe) (plate I) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881), print executed 1880
    Bear and Elf (Bär und Elfe)...
    (first published 1881), print executed 1880
    Max Klinger. Bear and Elf (Bär und Elfe) (plate I) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881), print executed 1880
  • Max Klinger. By the Sea (Am Meer) (plate II) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    By the Sea (Am Meer) (plate II)...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. By the Sea (Am Meer) (plate II) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Pursued Centaur (Verfolgter Centaur) (plate III) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Pursued Centaur (Verfolgter Centaur)...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Pursued Centaur (Verfolgter Centaur) (plate III) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Moonlight (Mondnacht) (plate IV) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Moonlight (Mondnacht) (plate IV)...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Moonlight (Mondnacht) (plate IV) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Battling Centaurs (Kämpfende Centauren) (plate V) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Battling Centaurs (Kämpfende...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Battling Centaurs (Kämpfende Centauren) (plate V) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Landslide (Bergsturz) (plate VI) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Landslide (Bergsturz) (plate VI)...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Landslide (Bergsturz) (plate VI) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Simplicius' Writing Lesson (Simplici Schreibstunde) (plate VII) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Simplicius' Writing Lesson (Simplici...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Simplicius' Writing Lesson (Simplici Schreibstunde) (plate VII) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Simplicius at the Hermit's Grave (Simplicius am Grabe des Einsiedlers) (plate VIII) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Simplicius at the Hermit's Grave...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Simplicius at the Hermit's Grave (Simplicius am Grabe des Einsiedlers) (plate VIII) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Simplicius among the Soldiers (Simplicius unter den Soldaten) (plate IX) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Simplicius among the Soldiers (Simplicius...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Simplicius among the Soldiers (Simplicius unter den Soldaten) (plate IX) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Simplicius in the Wilderness (Simplicius in der Waldeinöde) (plate X) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Simplicius in the Wilderness (Simplicius...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Simplicius in the Wilderness (Simplicius in der Waldeinöde) (plate X) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Fallen Rider (Gefallener Reiter) (plate XI) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
    Fallen Rider (Gefallener Reiter)...
    (first published 1881)
    Max Klinger. Fallen Rider (Gefallener Reiter) (plate XI) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881)
  • Max Klinger. Cupid, Death and the Beyond (Amor, Tod und Jenseits) (plate XII) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881), executed 1879/1881
    Cupid, Death and the Beyond (Amor, Tod...
    (first published 1881), executed 1879/1881
    Max Klinger. Cupid, Death and the Beyond (Amor, Tod und Jenseits) (plate XII) from Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV). (first published 1881), executed 1879/1881

About the portfolio

Heather Hess, German Expressionist Digital Archive Project, German Expressionism: Works from the Collection. 2011.

The sea threatens to sweep away a young woman. A fallen rider is trapped by his horse, and faces a lonely death, a victim of bad luck. Centaurs wage an epic battle, fighting over the meager reward of a tiny rabbit. A simple boy, Simplicius Simplicissimus, who found refuge with a hermit during the Thirty Years' War, must once again face the cruelty of the world after his benefactor's death.

Max Klinger's Intermezzi (Intermezzos) offers a diverse selection of amusements, like brief comedic interludes at the opera. The portfolio highlights the capriciousness of life and includes a sequence of four prints on the mythological lives of centaurs, four prints based on Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen's seventeenth-century tale The Adventurous Simplicissimus, and four individual compositions further elaborating Klinger's favored themes of desire, death, and fantasy. The twelve prints vary in size and format, but all reveal sublime vistas and demonstrate Klinger's mastery of the vocabulary of Romantic landscapes and lessons he learned through studying Japanese prints.

Klinger dedicated the portfolio to engraver and art dealer Hermann Sagert, who had encouraged him to disseminate his work more broadly by making prints. It also honors the composer Robert Schumann, whose musical Intermezzi are opus four in his own career.

Max Klinger (German, 1857–1920)

The Portfolio

Intermezzos, Opus IV (Intermezzi, Opus IV)

Date:
(first published 1881)
Medium:
Portfolio of seven etching and aquatints with chine collé and five etchings with with chine collé
Dimensions:
plate (see child records); sheet (each, approx.): 24 13/16 x 17 11/16" (63 x 44.9 cm)
Paper:
White, smooth, wove.
Publisher:
Theodor Stroefer, Nuremberg
Printer:
unknown
Edition:
unknown
Credit Line:
Given anonymously
Reference:
Singer 52-63.
MoMA Number:
249.1950.1-12
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