An original copper-plate etching from Walther Klemm’s 1919 portfolio Erbsünde, or Original Sin, a series of sixteen works reworking the Genesis story through explicitly erotic imagery.
This plate shows a group of wild animals, including big cats, set within dense foliage and engaged in a deliberately provocative scene. Across the series, Klemm used animal imagery, sexuality and humour to challenge conventional ideas around creation, morality and desire.
Walther Klemm (1883-1957) was born in Karlsbad and studied in Vienna, where he exhibited with the Vienna Secession from 1904. He later worked in Prague and at the Dachau artists’ colony before joining the Berlin Secession and Deutscher Künstlerbund. In 1913 he was appointed Professor of Graphic Art at the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Fine Arts in Weimar and remained closely associated with the city for the rest of his career.
Klemm became particularly known for printmaking, illustration and animal subjects, and his work is held in major international collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Signed in pencil by the artist. From an edition of 360 copies.
Signed in pencil Walther Klemm. From the Erbsünde portfolio, c.1919.
Copper-plate etching on paper.
Max Width - 53cm / 21"
Max Height - 69 cm / 27"
Light age-related foxing and toning to the sheet. Recently professionally remounted and reframed.
Recently reframed in a simple black frame with conservation-style mount and Art Glass.
