Sales exhibition 4, 3 and 1 Max Klinger from February 28, 2025

In the Max Klinger 4, 3 and 1 sales exhibition, eight original etchings are displayed on the walls, four of 15 illustrations from ‘Amor und Psyche’, three of 12 from ‘Intermezzi, Opus IV’ and one out of ten from "A love, Opus X".

The 15 illustrations of

Amor and Psyche

by the Roman poet Lucius Apuleius were commissioned by the Munich publisher Theodor Stroefer in 1880. From this cycle can be admired in the exhibition:

Sheet 1 ’Amor's Youth’

Sheet 2 ’Venus shows Amor Psyche’

Sheet 9 ’Jupiter and Venus’

Sheet 14 ’Amor with Jupiter’

Klinger never produced illustrations of this kind again in his life. On the contrary, he wrote to his friend Dehmel on 27 April 1919, who asked him to illustrate one of his volumes of poetry: ‘The term illustration has always been an abomination to me. I've done it a few times! For the sake of the cursed money ... In and of itself, I find locking letters and pictures together quite nasty.’

We are also exhibiting a further three from a series of 12 sheets created between 1879 and 1881. These were summarised by Klinger in 1881 under the title

Intermezzi, Opus IV

These are the three:

Sheet 5 ’Moon Night’

Sheet 7 ’Fallen Horseman’

Sheet 9 ’Simplicius in the forest wasteland’

Only one edition of Opus IV is known. Klinger dedicated the series to the engraver and art dealer Hermann Sagert. The sheets contain centaur landscapes and scenes based on Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen's 1668 picaresque novel ‘Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus’. Klingfer had read this little book during his time in Berlin. The cultural image that Klinger took from the book ‘was not the whirling, eventful life of an adventurer who boldly makes his way through all the obstacles of the time. Behind it all, Klinger saw only the horrors of the great war that devastated a country and its people.’

A Love, Opus X

’A love’ is a series of etchings consisting of 10 sheets. It was created between 1888 and 1891 and is a well-known example of Klinger's symbolist art. This series is about a complex depiction of love, whose psychological and emotional levels he thematises in powerful images. On view and for sale is

Sheet 5 ‘Happiness’

Max Klinger's ‘Opus X - Eine Liebe’ was not explicitly dedicated to a specific person, and there is no known patron for the series. However, it is assumed that the works are very much characterised by Klinger's own personal experiences and his intensive exploration of themes such as love, longing and loss. The series reflects not only his own inner conflicts, but also the general, universal aspects of the human psyche.

Enjoy an Italian coffee speciality or a fine wine from our region and view the exhibits at your leisure.