Simplicius at the Hermit's Grave (Simplicius am Grabe des Einsiedlers) from Intermezzi, Opus IV
Max Klinger
German, 1857–1920
1881
An etching with chine collé by Max Klinger that stages a solitary, literary scene — a kneeling youth at a hermit’s grave — meant to turn a small print into a charged, psychological narrative.
What strikes you first is the dense, delicate hatchwork: tangled roots and seaweed in the foreground, a gaunt figure poised by a still pond, and a richly engraved, shadowed woodland that together produce a hushed, uncanny atmosphere.
Klinger pushed etching (enhanced here with chine collé) beyond simple illustration into symbolic, dreamlike tableaux, helping to expand printmaking’s emotional and narrative possibilities for later Symbolist and modern artists.
Medium
Etching with chine collé from a portfolio of seven etching and aquatints and five etchings, all with chine collé
Dimensions
plate: 13 1/4 x 10 7/16" (33.7 x 26.5 cm); sheet: 24 3/4 x 17 11/16" (62.9 x 44.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Given anonymously
Accession
249.1950.8
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
