Publisher's Synopsis
Expressionism was a dominant force in German art from the late 1890s until the 1930s. In a complicated and fiery period, images impressed on paper became the most profound and exacting expressions of the age: emotionally, technically and rebelliously, prints offered artists fresh directions and challenges at a time of intense disillusionment with society and the world, but also heralded an era of individuality and democracy in visions of a new society which could be reproduced, illustrated and mass-produced to reach the most remote and casual of observers. Widely acclaimed as one of the most significant bodies of German Expressionist prints in the US, the Marcia and Granvil Specks Collection is noted for its high quality, breadth, and profound graphic power. All of the key graphic artists of the period (George Grosz, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Kathe Kollwitz, Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff) are represented in it. Presented here for the first time in its entirety, the collection reflects both the joys and sorrows of life in Germany from the 1890s to the 1930s. In addition to the illustrated catalogue of over 475 prints, accompanied by biographies of the artists, this book includes a study of the papers used in the prints, analysis of marks used by paper manufacturers and collectors, and essays discussing issues of visual culture and representation by leading scholars in the field.
