Artist
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff 1884 – 1976

About the work
Art historian and writer Wilhelm Niemeyer (1874–1960) championed Schmidt-Rottluff ’s art from an early stage, acquiring an impressive eleven paintings and 186 prints from the artist for his own collection. It is thanks to the former’s mediation that the Ausstellung des Sonderbundes westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler Düsseldorf 1910 included Schmidt-Rottluff ’s painting Mittag im Moor (Midday in the Moor, 1908). At the beginning of the 1920s Niemeyer became more interested in the art of Franz Radziwill, which ultimately ended his friendly relations with Schmidt-Rottluff. In this woodcut Niemeyer’s very thin, long, angular face is framed by a white outline. The lock of hair falling into Niemeyer’s forehead is quite striking, as it looks almost as though pasted on. A tie pin is visible underneath the corners of Niemeyer’s collar. This piece of jewellery was produced by Schmidt- Rottluff in Dangast around 1911. Niemeyer acquired not only a large number of pictures, but also two silver tie pins from the artist.

Catalog raisonné
Schapire H 270