This is a very interesting German colour woodcut which dates to the 1920s or 1930s.
It is printed on a very thin Japanese paper and is in fine condition with rich greens in the trees and vibrant pale blue shades in the river and the sky.
It is signed in pencil in the bottom margin and inscribed. The signature is for the German lady artist, Lina Elisabeth Margarete Gerhardt (1873 - 1958).
She was born in Frankfurt in 1873 and was a German painter, graphic artist and lino and woodcutter. She attended the painting and drawing school run by the Association of Berlin Artists. In 1895 she became a student of Wilhelm Müller-Schoenefeld (1867–1944) for two years, who taught her portrait painting and figurative drawing,
From 1897 until 1904 she attended Dora Hitz's (1856–1924) painting academy and learned much from her impressionistic, luminous painting style. Hitz was a friend and colleague of Käthe Kollwitz. Inspired by an Emil Orlik exhibition in the National Gallery, Gerhardt taught herself the technique of coloured woodcuts and subsequently became a successful artist in her own right.
Gerhardt went on study trips with Hitz to Italy and Paris in 1911-1912, and she also travelled to the Swiss Alps. In 1922 and 1933 she exhibited at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition of Paintings, Woodcuts and Linocuts. The focus of her work is landscapes and portraits
This is certainly a most attractive artwork by her. I feel that Gerhardt might have been inspired by similar impressionist subjects made by Claude Monet in the 1890s.
It is certainly a highly decorative original colour woodcut from the early 20th century. There have been five separate colours used in the creation of this print.
It has been recently professionally re-framed. It has a new acid-free mount and a simple black wooden moulding. The woodcut is in good antique condition - there is a little light discolouration to the sheet due to the age and nature of the paper used. There is a little spotting to the bottom margin and in the top sky area and a little ripple to the sky in the top left-hand corner. But this is not obvious on display and I have photographed it all for your inspection. These issues seem to be natural items to find in her works - due to the very fine kind of paper that she used - which also tended to discolour slightly.
Dimensions: Image size is 18.5 x 26.5 cm. The frame is 34.5 x 41.5 cm.
I have priced this work to reflect its sheer fine decorative quality, and also to take into account the cost of getting it all framed in a quality frame. It is also a rather rare survivor!
It will be sent to you in the UK with Parcelforce24. This will cost £10 and applied to your order at the checkout.