Alexander Rothaug (Vienna 1870-1946 Vienna)
Daphne
circa 1912
pen in black and colored pencil in red over pencil on wafer-thin vellum paper
23,8 x 14 cm
view above with digitally cropped margins
signed lower right in black pen and inverted: "ALEXANDER ROTHAUG"
The Daulton Collection
Provenance:
ex coll. artist Ernst Fuchs (Austrian, 1930-1915)
Discussion:
Our drawing "was probably created during Rothaug's stay on Mallorca in 1912." B
This drawing has sometimes been assigned the title "Flora," but it clearly depicts Daphne.
"It is probably the design for an etching, with rubbing marks (colored pencil) from the transfer on the reverse, but no printed copies can be found." B
"Rothaug created a painting of "Flora" in which the figure of the goddess is similar to our drawing, but the surroundings are designed quite differently (see "Aphrodite," Im Kinsky, Vienna, auction November 29, 2016, lot 330)." B
"The fact that Ernst Fuchs took up Rothaug's figure of Daphne/Flora, as shown here in our drawing, and created very similar female figures in his etchings "Daphne" (1968) or "Tree of Aphrodite" (1980) (cf. Weis/Fuchs 143 I or 291) shows the influence of Rothaug's oeuvre on the collector and illustrator Fuchs." B
