Liebespaar. 1909.
Woodcut.
Schapire H 25. Signed, dated and inscribed with the work number "1332". On machine-made laid paper (with the watermark S L G). 54.7 x 41.9 cm (21.5 x 16.4 in). Sheet: 67,7 x 51,5 cm (26,6 x 20,2 in).
Printed by Fritz Voigt, Berlin, in 1913.
• From the sought-after "Brücke" days.
• Another copy of this rare woodcut is in the collection of the Städel Museum, Frankfurt a. Main.
• The artist used a combination of white and black lines, which allows for a stronger definition of the couple's silhouette against the surrounding area.
• Despite the physical closeness, a strange distance between man and woman remains, which hints at symbolistic illustrations, like those by Edvard Munc (1863–1944), whose works Schmidt-Rottluff became acquainted with through Gustav Schiefler (1857–1935), collector and author of Edvard Munch's catalogue raisonné of prints.
• In their prints, Schmidt-Rottluff and the "Brücke" artists expressed their then unconventional and novel concept of art, which revived the then little popular medium.

PROVENANCE: Frankfurter Kunstkabinett Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Frankfurt a. Main.
Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Würzburg (acquired from the above in 1988, with the collector's stamp, Lugt 6032).

EXHIBITION: Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 1995-2001).
Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2001-2017).
Buchheim Museum, Bernried (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2017-2022).

LITERATURE: Heinz Spielmann (ed.), Die Maler der Brücke. Sammlung Hermann Gerlinger, Stuttgart 1995, p. 216, SHG no. 282 (with illu.).
Hermann Gerlinger, Katja Schneider (eds.), Die Maler der Brücke. Inventory catalog Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 42, SHG no. 60 (with illu.).