Fritz Krostewitz (1860-1913), Landscape Near Zutphen After Emil Jakob Schindler, Circa 1895

Fritz Krostewitz (1860 Berlin - 1913 ibid.), Landscape near Zutphen after Emil Jakob Schindler, around 1895. Etching, 19.5 cm x 28 cm (image), 38.5 cm x 46.5 cm (frame). Attractively framed with passe-partout behind glass. - Etching in excellent condition. Frame with minor scratches.    



Fritz Krostewitz studied at the Berlin Academy from 1880 to 1885 and then from 1885 to 1888 with Wilhelm Unger in Vienna, who taught him the art of reproductive etching. This art form, which is forgotten today, not only makes a painting reproducible in print, but also translates it into another medium. Such a transfer is always also an interpretation of the image, which requires a congenial artistic hand. Krostewitz initially transferred images from the Barbizon school into printmaking and subsequently devoted himself primarily to landscape depictions. Many of his prints are also his own creations. In his print interpretation of Emil Jakob Schindler's 1893 landscape near Zutphen in the Netherlands, Krostewitz demonstrates his full skill, using the etching needle to create the most delicate values, so that the atmosphere of the landscape is just as present as in the oil painting. The scene is highly dramatic, with the river widening on the left to reveal the typical Dutch landscape with its low horizon line, while on the right of the picture a farmstead can be seen in a small forest landscape in close-up, indicated by the open gate in the fence.