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BOOKPLATES THE WORLD OF EX-LIBRIS |
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A historical retrospective 3 MODERN TIMES |
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3d THE 1900s: GERMANY AND JUGENDSTIL 1880-1918
Perhaps it is artificial to separate the German trends of art and
decorative arts of the late nineteenth century from those in
Britain or the rest of Europe. However, it allows one to make a few
general statements on the parallels and differences between
them. Obviously, there is a link between the rôle of The Studio
magazine in Britain, Jugend and Pan in Germany, and La Revue
Blanche in Paris, in that they were vehicles for new artistic
expression. They were active at approximately the same time.
But if the Studio consecrated an existing trend, Jugend provoked,
rather than consecrated, a similar trend. The return to romantic
classicism in bookplates was definitely earlier in Britain than in
Germany. Few interesting pictorial ex-libris appear in Germany
before the 1890s, apart from heraldic revival items, and Art
Nouveau and Art Déco decorative styles gave way to the individu-alists
which brought about the Golden Age of German ‘Sammler-exlibris’,
or collectors’ bookplates, some examples of which will
be seen here, as well as others in later sections and in the last part
of this study.
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3d/1. Hans Thoma (D, 1839-1924)  ipse, L, ø 83, c.1880.
GM 11568.
Considered the ‘Old Master’ of the Secession, Thoma had an influential role in the development of German art in his time. He used algraphy to make this plate, a form of direct lithography. |
3d/2. Eduard O. Hoppe (D, 1837-1890) Jorge Casares,
C3 + C5, 138 x 71, c.1890.
Hoppe was an important graphic artist, but few ex-libris by him are known. This pleasing orientalist image was commissioned by the Argentine lawyer, banker and bibliophile Casares. |
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3d/3. Max Klinger (D, 1857-1920) IPSE, C3, 119 x 65, 1896.
GM 5524.
Viz. Singer 310, Tauber 9.
The great Klinger, who is considered the father of the renewal of graphic arts in Germany and its first symbolist, created 57 ex-libris between 1879 and 1904. It was to a great extent the interest of Klinger for bookplates which catalysed the co-operation between artists and collectors in the early 20th century which produced the ‘Golden Age’ of German ex-libris. This is a rare proof on japan paper which was earlier in the K. M. Astor collection. |
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3d/4. Otto Eckmann (D, 1865-1902) EMY FIERZ, X2/2, 88 x
58, 1898. Weg 2138.
Although he died young, Eckmann was a major actor on the decorative arts scene in Germany and one of the first contributors to Jugend. Emy Fierz was the wife of Colonel Karl Theodor Fierz and died in 1903. Lilies and swans are frequent decorative elements in Jugendstil. |
3d/5. Hans am Ende (D, 1864-1918) WILHELM FELSING, P3,
104 x 71, c.1900. GM2320.
Less known to ex-libris collectors, but also an important figure of Jugendstil graphics, am Ende was a friend of Vogeler and an interesting illustrator and designer. Symbolic nudity, in this plate as in later ones, was considered to be an expression of the search for freedom and had no erotic innuendos. |
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3d/6. Emil Orlik (D, 1870-1932) CARL ASP, L, 80 x 72,
1898. GM 7731.
Viz. Scheffer p. 40.
Of Czech origin, Orlik lived in Vienna – where he was close to the artists of the Secession – and later in Berlin, where he taught at the Academy. His 136 ex-libris are all of remarkable quality and delicacy, and are highly prized by collectors. |
3d/7. Julius Diez (D, 1870-1957) BAYERISCHER
KUNSTGEWERBEVEREIN, P1, 100 x 97, c.1900.
Diez worked with Jugend, and is an artist who had a substantial following in the younger generation. This ex-libris gives a feeling of a more wilful return to classical woodcut than similar British work of the same period. |
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3d/8. Franz Marc (D, 1880-1916) Daniel Pesl, L, 80 x 53,
c.1905.
One of the few and rare ex-libris made by the great German expressionist Marc, who in 1911 was to found the Blaue Reiter group with Kandinsky, and whose life prematurely ended at Verdun when he was in his mid-thirties. Marc started as a theology student and only later turned to painting, so this ex-libris probably dates from the early part of his artistic career. He made another ex-libris for the same owner dated 1905, and this one must be shortly after. As this ex-libris is the most recent addition to the collection, and the catalogue is about to go to press, research has yet to be done. |
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3d/9. Georg Barlösius (D, 1864-1908) IPSE, MT (X),
103 x 74, c.1900.
As with heraldry, many artists of the time wished to reinterpret Renaissance woodcut style in modern terms. Barlösius, a prolific engraver of ex-libris, was quite successful in this field. His ex-libris for his own books was produced by mixed techniques, and it is very hard to tell which they are. |
3d/10. Mathieu Molitor (D, 1873-1929) LYDIA BREHMER,
P1, 134 x 100, c.1900.
Of Alsatian origin, Molitor worked in Leipzig. This bookplate shows a frequently-used feature of German Jugendstil ex-libris, the decorated frame containing an image much as a photograph frame might. This piece came from the collection of R. von Hoschek, who had obtained it from the collection of Albert Ross. |
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3d/11. Franz Stassen (D, 1869-1949) CARL LANGENSCHEIDT,
P7, 200 x 150, c.1900. GM 10846.
Viz. GM, ill. An extravagant Jugendstil image for Langenscheidt, of dictionary fame. The same image exists also as a heliogravure,163 x 118 mm< it represents man between Fortune and Fame. |
3d12 - 3d22
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