In Flagranti from Dramas, Opus IX (Dramen, Opus IX)
Max Klinger
German, 1857–1920
(first published 1883)
An etching with chine collé in which Max Klinger stages a theatrical, late‑19th‑century melodrama—meticulous architectural and botanical detail frame the scandal of a man caught “in flagranti,” probing desire and social tension.
What strikes you first is the razor‑sharp textural detail: dense foliage and ornate stonework in deep black and white, a sprawled pair of legs jutting across the tiled terrace and a pensive woman half hidden in shadow beneath a moonlit, bird‑flecked sky.
Klinger combined symbolist storytelling and technical virtuosity to push the etching beyond illustration into a medium for psychological narrative, influencing how prints could convey erotic ambiguity and modern subjectivity.
Medium
Etching with chine collé from a portfolio of four etchings with chine collé and six etchings and aquatints with chine collé
Dimensions
plate: 18 x 12 9/16" (45.7 x 31.9 cm); sheet: 24 1/8 x 18 1/16" (61.2 x 45.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mr. Harold Halperin
Accession
715.1976.1
Palette
Exhibitions
