Before the Ballet. Drypoint by noted German Impressionist painter and etcher Ernst Oppler (1867-1929)
1915.
Signed in full in pencil just outside platemark at lower right. Also signed and dated in the plate ("E. Oppler 15") at lower left, inscribed in pencil "9-50" just outside platemark at lower left and "VII.II" at lower left corner, with titling in pencil to lower margin. On ivory laid Bosquet watermarked paper. Impression size 180 x 270 mm. (7 x 9-1/2"), with wide margins.
A pre-performance (or intermission) scene depicting three tiers of an elaborate performance space with people both sitting and standing, some in animated conversation, with players in the orchestra pit before a closed curtain.
Number 9 of an edition limited to 50 copies, this impression an apparent second state (of seven).
Oppler is considered the premiere chronicler of ballet in Germany. "[He] spent his student years in Munich, London and Holland before settling in Berlin, in 1905. As a member of the Berliner Secession, he developed into a sought-after portraitist and from 1912, through his drawings and graphic works, to one of the (perhaps to the) most significant German artistic chroniclers of ballet history. Especially the Ballets Russes and their soloists owe to Oppler's enthusiasm an appreciation known until today only among ballet afficionados. Oppler is recognized as the inventor of an illuminated drawing pencil, which enabled him to sketch from the audience during rehearsals and performances." Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.
Item #39089
Price: $475.00 other currencies