Emil Orlik (1870-1932), Gerhard Hauptmann, 1922

Emil Orlik (1870 Prague - 1932 Berlin), Gerhart Hauptmann, 1922. Etching, 17.5 cm x 14 cm (image), 30 cm x 23.8 cm (sheet size), signed in pencil “Emil Orlik” and inscribed “Probedruck Gerhart Hauptmann”.
- somewhat darkened and slightly light-stained, otherwise in very good condition    



- Modern Classicism -


The etching was included in the special edition of the book 'Gerhard Hauptmann und sein Werk', published by Ludwig Marcuse in 100 copies. The book was published by Franz Schneider Verlag in 1922 as a tribute to Hauptmann on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Emil Orlik had met the writer in the 1890s and designed a poster for his play "Die Weber" in 1897, which is considered an incunabulum of the social poster. The etching produced here as a proof for Hauptmann's 60th birthday is particularly expressive, as Orlik gave Hauptmann's personality a "monumental character" for the representative book edition. To this end, he chose the stern profile that characterizes Hauptmann's face, as seen on commemorative coins, in the manner of a Renaissance portrait. Accordingly, the head casts a shadow that looks almost like a silhouette, which, from an art historical perspective, also stands for the "eternity of the face". However, the silhouette is dissolved into virtuoso layers of strokes, so that as a background it emphasizes the actual head even more, in which Orlik makes the face appear brighter, while hatchings connecting to the background lie over the rest of the head, making Hauptman's face appear even more alive.  



About the artist


Emil Orlik grew up in Prague and studied at Heinrich Knirr's painting school in Munich from 1889 to 1891 and then at the Munich Art Academy from 1891 to 1893. From 1894 to 1896, Orlik returned to Prague, where he did a year of military service and became friends with Reiner Maria Rilke, who inspired him to design books. In 1896 Orlik returned to Munich, where he developed an artistic friendship with Bernhard Pankok. The following year, Orlik opened a studio in Prague, which he ran until 1904. In 1898 he undertook a nearly year-long study trip to England, Scotland, Holland, Belgium and Paris. In 1904, Orlik became a teacher at the Vienna Museum of Decorative Arts. He had been a member of the Vienna Secession since 1899 and published in the Jugendstil magazine 'Ver Sacrum'. In 1905 he was appointed professor at the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts, where he succeeded Otto Eckmann as head of the graphics class until Eckmann's death in 1932. George Grosz, Hanna Höch and Karl Hubbuch were among his students. In 1900 Orlik made a year-long trip to Japan, which had a lasting influence on his art. In 1904 he published the portfolio "From Japan" and from 1905 to 1910 he illustrated the six-volume edition of the works of the English diplomat Lafcadio Hearn, who lived in Japan. In 1912 he made his second trip to Japan, which also took him to Egypt, Sudan, Ceylon, China, and Korea. His artistic impressions were reflected in the portfolios "Journey to Egypt" (1921) and "Journey to Japan" (1921). The late 1920s were also marked by numerous trips to America, France, Spain, Italy and Yugoslavia. In addition to his artistic work as an interior designer, which included designs for costumes and stage sets for Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater, Orlik was primarily a graphic artist and sought-after portraitist. He painted portraits of Gerhard Hauptmann, Henrik Ibsen, Bernhard Pankok, Gustav Mahler, Max Klinger, Rainer Maria Rilke, Ernst Barlach, Lovis Corinth, Otto Dix, Käthe Kollwitz, Max Slevogt, Franz Werfel, Rudolf Steiner, Thomas Mann, Albert Einstein, Franz Marc and Alfred Döblin, among others. His virtuosity as a portraitist led Orlik to be hired as a portraitist for the Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference, which resulted in the portfolio "Caricatures from Brest-Litovsk" (1918).