Max Pollak: Vienna portraits.

Max Pollak

(Prag 1886-1970 San Francisco)

Austrian-American painter and etcher.

Palermo

I'm a great admirer of Max Pollak. To admire one does not have to actually own a work: I don't. But wouldn't I ? I'm always on the look out. His technique (aquatint, soft ground etching) to create atmosphere in his city views of New-York, San Francisco, Paris, Vienna etc.. with "simple" washes of gray or light purple coloring is quite unique.   

But it is the sparse and delicate use of just a few "Japanese" color accents, a detail used in all his city- and landscapes making him immediately recognizable. I wonder how he came to it: Emil Orlik's influence perhaps ? In America he's probably best known by his New-York Views, commissioned by Theodor Dreiser's for his limited edition "My City" in 1929. The Annex Gallery recently announced their newest in stock here* : many city views. I will show more of those later. Pollak had only arrived in New-York two years before. 

This etched portrait above was simply described as "a pianist". It took me some time on a rainy day, but I've figured it out. It is concert pianist and composer Alfred Grünfeldt (Prag 1852-1924), friend of Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss sr. He was also the first pianist in history to make commercial recordings. He travelled all over Europe and the United States performing often with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Pollak and his wife Friedl emigrated to the US in 1927 being already established and successful in the 1920's in Vienna as a society (actors, writers, dancers, musicians and scientists) portrait artist. He'd been a student of the "great" William Unger (1837-1932) and Ferdinand Schmutzer (1870-1928).

Portrait of Arnold Rose (Rosenblum) (1863-1946) the legendary Wiener Philharmonie  conductor who'd led this orchestra for over 50 years. 

He married Justine, Gustav Mahler's sister, his brother marrying the other  one. Arnold Rose sat also for Ferdinand Schmutzer as did Gustav Mahler for Emil Orlik (below).   

Vienna was the home of three contemporary and successful aquatint etchers: Pollak, Luigi Kasimir (1881-1962) and Hans Figura (1898-1978). Both Kasimir and Figura (who had been Kasimir's student) travelled to New-York and it wouldn't surprise me if Pollak invited them to celebrate his succes, he had a solo exhibition in New York in 1928. Kasimir and Figura never tried at portraits by the way. (*)

 Brooklyn bridge by Luigi Kasimir and by Hans Figura,  

 and by Tavik Frantisek Simon 

(*) The fourth and probably most famous aquatint and portrait etcher from Czech descent of that period was Tavik Frantisek Simon (1877-1942) but he, after working in Paris 1905-1913, had returned to Prag in 1917. 

Kasimir, famous for his city-views had also been a William Unger student at Vienna Art Academy (as was printmaker Norbertine von Bresslern-Roth (1891-1978). 

Portrait of Emil (von) Sauer (1862-1942), he was knighted in 1917, a famous Vienna concert pianist and had been a student of Anton Rubinstein and Franz Lizst. 

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Vienna neurologist and psychiater, portrait  by Max Pollak,

and portraits by Ferdinand Schmutzer, who was also a keen photographer using his negatives in his etchings work as I mentioned in before postings (follow the link below). 

This posting is what I was able to scratch together concerning Max Pollak's Vienna portrait etchings. Sadly a few are "hidden" and can not be digitally revealed (by me). 

After settling in America Pollak almost exclusively turned his attention to city views and landscapes. Before, he'd travelled through Europe and sketched extensively as he did later in South America when he lived in San Francisco. 

A young Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) also played with the Vienna Philharmonic in America, from 1926/27. 

Until his departure in 1927 together with Ferdinand Schmutzer and Emil Orlik these three etchers seem to have portrayed and etched many of  Austria's  celebrities, the rich and famous, of the 1920's. 

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Portraits of unidentified persons.
(Wouldn't it be great to identify them).

Portrait of M..?... Deutsch.
(See next posting for identifcation)

Portrait of "a man". Probably in his 70's in the mid 1920's.

I would like very much to identify these two persons above, any clues or help is welcomed. Also portraits that I've missed of course. My email in the link above.

a "Dutch Study"

All pictures borrowed freely from the internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only. 

Studio Schmutzer (3/3)

Discussing the use of photographs in early 19th century art let’s have a look and compare some very different works by very different artists. Like these examples of etchings by Anders Zorn 1860-1920 which are so obviously created with the aid of photographic negatives. 

However, I haven’t come across any mentioning not even by critic and connoiseur Malcolm Salaman (1855-1940) who dedicated an album to Zorn in his Modern Masters of Etching in 1925. All he is enthusiastically writing about is the fine line technique and the healthy(..) appearance of the Nordic young women but nowhere is he hinting at the use of photography. 

But they are unmistakenly extremely close to the original photographs. Fine  artisticly executed tracings would be a more appropriate description. Same goes for many of his portraits. But I failed finding any references in literature. Maybe I just have'nt read enough. In the case of Schmutzer many photo's are available, but not so with Zorn. This painting and etching below: all I could find was the admiration for Zorn's realistic rendering of water and the natural postures, the idylle of mother and child. Which are all quite true of course.

Probably the photo's will never be found. In Zorn’s days they wouldn’t be considered Great Art but voyeur or "risque". That is to say to be enjoyed in a gentlemen’s smoking room. Besides very famous they made Zorn, a Swedish icon, also filthy rich. My look towards his otherwise great Art however has changed. I can’t help finding them less appealing and original and wished I hadn’t had such a suspiscious mind. Just not as freely created as they suggest to be ?

On the opposite side of the spectrum is William Hyde. A completely different appraoch but also called photogravure. Looking closely, the use of a photographical source is eminent. But Hyde’s photogravures look like photogravures, Schmutzers’ photogravures look like etchings, while Zorn’s photogravures breath photograph. Hyde is somewhat enigmatic. There are no biographical facts recorded anywhere (to my knowledge) and because other then the illustrations for this one book he is completely unknown and obscured. His London views however are unequaled.   

A photogravure by Leonard Missone (1870-1948) the photographer who really could paint with his camera and saw the gloomy beauty of bad weather and was at his best in twilight and most of all: in rain. 

A great Hamburg harbour scene by German photographer Kurt Hielscher  (1881-1948) excecuted like an etching. Compare this water's surface to Emile Verpilleux Thames (link) print, and I'm convinced he also used photography for his print

From his portraits of famous clergymen by Emile Verpilleux (1888-1964). Obviously created with the help of photographs I’ve excavated. They are relatively unknown, an amalgam of 19^th century silhouette portrait, photograph and wood engraving techniques. And another example of creativity and exploring different mediums and technical possibilities.    

 Portrait photograph and woodblock of preacher Agnes Maud Royden (1876-1956) by Emile Verpilleux

Portraits of Peter van der Braken by Dutch Henri Berssenbrugge (1873-1959) and a head study by Joseph T. Keiley (1869-1914) show how many different approaches can be observed. 

Many artist in different countries became involved in these photography based  techniques, pioneering and experimenting some of them obtaining stunning results. In these examples the many differences in approach and technique are obvious. But in all of them is echoeing their 19^th century training.

L:  photogravure Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966) 
R: etching by Jan Poortenaar (1886-1958)

Photogravure by French painter and photographer Robert Demachy (1854-1936)

 L: Joseph Dudley-Johnston (1868-1955) 

R: Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966)

photogravures

The list of great examples is ofcourse endless. So I'ld better close this posting the way I started.  Great buttocks: painting/study by Felix Valloton (1865-1925) who had either a steady eye and a patient, unnamed, model and/or a camera at hand. And the photogravure by Alfred Steiglitz (1864-1946) showing the glorious  icons of Ellen Koeniger. Sadly I have no further biographical data other then these great athletes were immortalised in 1916. 

There’s a great Website dedicated to photogravure, explaining technical aspects and a free and great database: www.photogravure.com  

Studio Schmutzer (2/3)

Continuing with Ferdinand Schmutzer’s legacy today some examples of his etchings are compared to the discovered photographs. In the above photograph of his wife Alice the grandeur (and dress) rivaling John Singer Sargents (1856-1925) portrait of Lady Agnew of Lochnaw. Schmutzer used a cushion allowing a more reclining position for his wife but left it a bit clumsely in sight. 

I did my best finding the photograph Schmutzer used to create one of his most famous etchings of Rosa Kantor, a Viennese bankers daughter. It's not 1:1 but it's close. The actual etched print, a huge, impresive and never before seen 95 x110 cm. I am very curious about the different and combined techniques he and other artist put to use the photographical negatives to the etching plate. I'm convinced the negatives weren’t only “used as designing aid” as is stated in the accompanying text in the Austrian National Library but far more direct methodes were used. I found this great site www.photogravure.com which answered many of my questions and has a great database. 

In the case of Sigmunds Freud's (1856-1939) etched portrait it's obvious, Photo: etching, 1:1. In the case of composer and conductor Richard Strauss (1864-1949)  (below) it's probably the next  photo from the same sitting session I failed to find. Remnants of the cabinet survived in the background at the eye-level right-side of the etching. And the surviving original photograph had to be mirrored.  

On the other hand Pablo Casals' (1876-1973) portrait (below) was again 1:1 to the photograph.

Wether the negatives, or the copper plate, or both, before, afterwards, were (re)-worked and to what extend I cannot technically answer. Comparing Schmutzer’s work to that of other artists  a great variety of different styles and effects can be seen in next (3/3) posting. 

In the case of Schmutzers view on Dürnstein above I found the etching and a painting in oil but not the photograph that obviously is the source of both.

"Hamburg canal " proving Schmutzers talent and reputation as an important photographer. The list of examples can be much longer; Ferdinand Schmutzer was a prolific artist,  

showing in many photo's and etchings his admiration for Rembrandt (right)

The actual word photogravure however is causing much confusion because it is freely used for an array of artistic grafic expressions. From the relatively basic photographic chemical process of etching the photographical image onto a copper plate, instead of paper, to far more creative and artistic forms of printmaking. Also it is to be taken into account many examples are (still) described as etchings while it is obvious they are, technically, some form of photogravure. 

Next: other artist using photographic images and negatives creating great and famous prints.