Gustave Baumann (German-born, USA 1881-1971) is a prolific, famous printmaker with a long and successful career. He primarily worked in color linoleum and wood block prints with multiple blocks, and I did a
previous post here on his process with a six-block six-color piece. That piece gave us a great tour of his working method, but wasn’t a piece I really loved, so today I’ve got a few of his pieces that I do love.
First, a wonderfully detailed view of a wonderfully detailed building. The piece is entitled “Old Munich” and my first thought is that the color palette was chosen under the inspiration of sepia-toned photographs. However, I’m probably being anachronistic with that, since in 1905 photography and sepia-toning would presumably have seemed fairly new. At any rate, it’s a beautiful image, with a sort of wistful, autumnal look.
This next one also captures light wonderfully, with a masterful dappling of shadow and the hot sunlit lawn beyond the cool shade of the tree. The little birds are not very detailed, but the very imprecision of this scene somehow contributes to that sense of looking into strong sunlight, slightly dazzled. I can’t even figure out how many different blocks and colors Baumann has used for this piece, because the layering of colors adds so much further subtlety. (This piece is undated, but it has the same border of little yellow dots as the piece in my previous linked post, and is signed with a similar sort of chop, so I’m guessing this one is also from around 1924.)
And finally, a piece that at first glance looks closer to my beloved single-color block prints… But when you start to look more closely you realize that it has at least three different colors of brown ink, and possibly four or five, depending on how some of the colors were achieved. Once again, I love the way Baumann has depicted light and shadow. Perhaps most notable, I find the cream-colored texture on the main arch to be a delightful surprise, and an interesting contrast from the solid areas and other textures in the piece. Everything about this is gorgeous!
[Pictures: Old Munich, color linocut by Gustave Baumann, 1905;
Live Oak, Sando Park, color woodcut by Baumann, between 1901-1934, c 1924?;
5 comments:
Thanks for this post and introducing me to Baumann - that Old Munich print has sparked some story ideas!
Oooh, now I'm curious to hear what you're thinking of! I agree it looks like a wonderful setting.
I have what appears to be a Baumann I bought at a yard sale... believe or not. It resembles many that I’ve recently seen online and was sold by a New York store that went out of business in 1905. Anybody have any ideas as to how to identify this piece? It’s an image of yellow leaved trees in a wood with a small stream and a small cottage beyond the stream. Thanks for any advice!
My daughter just graduated from Oregon State University with a BFA. Her focus is printmaking. Stone Lithography, plate lithography, wood and lino. Her talent is astonishing. She also does some brilliant water colors. I'm going to send her to this blog...
Hello, funjunkie,
Wow, that would be a cool find! I'm not an expert on authentication, but I think the first step would be to look for a signature or chop (the little orange printed symbol by the signature) below the image, and/or initials carved in the piece, usually in a lower corner. Also search on-line for images of Baumann's work and see whether yours matches one. If you live anywhere near an art museum (many colleges and universities have them as well as major cities), they may have special days where you can show things to curators, or a curator may even be willing to make an appointment to meet with you. Good luck!
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