Otto Greiner (Leipzig 1869- 1916 Munich)
Portrait of Max Klinger in Leipzig
[Bildnis von Max Klinger in Leipzig],
1914,
lithograph on rolled yellowish China paper,
rare mirror-image impression (state 1)
37,2 x 24,9cm (plate); 56,6 x 45 cm (sheet)
signed, inscribed, dated and numbered in pencil lower right: "O. Greiner Leipzig 17.X.1914 / I. Dr." [first impression]
signed in pencil lower left by the sitter Max Klinger: "M. Klinger"
mounted in an old passe-partout
The Daulton Collection
excellent, fine and precise impression on the full sheet
condition: very minimal dusting in the passe-partout cutout; the china with a few smaller stains and some surface dirt; otherwise in untouched condition.
catalogue raisonne: Vogel 103 I (of II)
Provenance:
Max Klinger
Acquired by the father of the most-recent owner in the 1970s in the Dresden art trade, before its acquisition by The Daulton Collection in 2021.
Discussion:
Of the utmost rarity, this print is an autograph mirror-image transfer from the plate (also known as a counter-proof?), impression number 1. According to Julius Vogel, the author of the Greiner catalogue raisonne, Greiner made only a few mirror-image impressions of this print (impressions from the published print-run, state 2 of this print, are not mirror-image). Vogel lists one impression in the museum in Leipzig and another in the Munich collection of Nannina Greiner, the artist's wife. Otto Greiner gave our impression, the first impression, to the sitter artist Max Klinger, who was Greiner's mentor. The lithographic stone was not scrubbed and was acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Leipzig. There it is walled in in an arcade pillar in front of Klinger's sculpture hall.
