Robert Pajer-gartegen - Resting By The Lake

Woodcut on Ingres paper—Signed and monogrammed

An Austro-Hungarian artist renowned for his landscapes, seascapes, and genre scenes, Pajer-Gartegen was at the heart of the Austrian avant-garde of the 1910s and 1920s (close to Oskar Kokoschka, Max Oppenheimer, and the Hagenbund group). During his graphic period (1919–1930), his treatment of color and form resonated directly with the spiritual and expressive movement of the Blue Rider “Der Blaue Reiter.”
The woodcut technique compelled the artist to abandon classical modeling in favor of the pure contrast between the black of the ink and the white of the paper: the foliage at the top of the composition is carved with incisive, vigorous gouge strokes that evoke the wind and the movement of nature, contrasting with the supple, serene lines of the mother’s and child’s bodies. Their silhouettes are highlighted by large blocks of black and sharp outlines, drawing inspiration from Synthetism and folk art (Volkskunst), which were particularly dear to the members of the Blue Rider. Vassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, in fact, made extensive use of woodcut printing for its ability to distill form and convey a direct energy, stripped of all superfluous elements. The maternal theme set against a botanical backdrop directly echoes Gabriele Münter’s explorations of the cosmic union between living beings and their environment.