ERNST LIUDWIG KIRCHNER (1880-1938) 1

Zwei Akte in Badwanne 2
(Two Nudes in a Bathtub) 3

Dube 258, first state of two; l9l4 4,5
Lithograph, signed & inscribed in pencil 6,7
16½ x 12¾ inches; 420 x320 mm 8

9A fine impression on a sheet of 10wove paper, watermark 11BLOTTING, from the 12edition of 40 published by Lang13 in l923. One or two small repaired 14splits in the lower margin…

Each number is explained below.

1. Artist’s name and dates

2. Established / Correct title of work (Assumed or proposed titles are given in brackets)

3. English equivalent or translation

4. Catalogue Raisonné reference followed by state. Most major printmakers have had their entire output catalogued in strict chronological order. These sequential numbers are given after the cataloguer’s name as a kind of shorthand title to the work. A state is an alteration to a print’s matrix (e.g. copper plate) when it is printed.

5. The date of the print’s first impression. This may differ from the date of other impressions, trial proofs, states or editions.

6. Printmaking technique, such as woodcut, etching etc.

7. Not all prints are issued signed.

8. Size of plate mark in inches (rounded down to the nearest ¼ inch) and given more accurately in millimetres

9. Quality of impression: fine- very good- good- fair. ‘Fair’ is a polite way of saying ‘Poor’

10. Various types of paper will be described. Paper manufacture can become an area of fascination in itself.

11. Not all papers have watermarks: but dating of watermarks can be a way of helping to establish the date of the impression.

12. Edition sizes are given when known. Prints can have more than one edition and these should be stated. The practice of taking part of an edition on japan paper, before the main part of the edition was printed on more ordinary paper, was common earlier this century.

13. The print’s publisher should be given where known.

14. Condition. Do not buy prints which are in poor condition. The vast majority of prints, which we are offered, are not in a good enough condition for us to buy. Paper, which has lasted fifty, a hundred or five hundred years will undoubtedly not be in perfect condition. Nevertheless, while small damages may be acceptable in a print’s margins (which are there to protect it anyway) damages are virtually never acceptable within the printed area itself. Always look at both sides of the paper for signs of repairs, when you are buying a print.