The Linosaurus: Viktor Böhm

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Night Sky & Milky Way (part I)

Night Sky & Milky Way

After a successful swap of prints I promised fellow print collector and reader Kevin in Wisconsin (USA) to ask the help of readers of this Blog to identify his 1922 woodblock print of a night sky. If you have any idea: please send a message.

There is a possible symbolic message (Christmas) because of the visible comet over the horizon. There's a small "G" monogrammed lower left.

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This is also a fine opportunity sharing some more pictures of Night Sky and Milky Way prints. Here a random selection of my most favorite.

Baikaleisnacht (Baikal Icy Night) 1923

Siberiën 1914-1919

"in Dankbare Deutscher Treue"

Lily (from the great Japonisme Blog) send me this fine example, above, just a few days ago. It's by Viktor Böhm (1880-1954), a hardly known printmaker I've already shared with you in the Blog (here*). It was found in a recent auction catalogue.

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Two classic examples by American printmakers Gustave Baumann (1881-1971) and William Selzer Rice (1873-1963) above.

Next: Lituanian/American artist Vija Celmins (b.1938-) who created several prints showing the heavens and Mila (Ludmilla) von Luttich (1872-1929) from Austria a decorative and Art Deco artist from Vienna.

Neil Welliver (1929-2005) and Robert Ayton (1915-1985). Ayton illustrated the 1961 Ladybird book "Night Sky".

This haunting and desolate 1941 night sky print by Australian-German Ludwig Hirschfield Mack (1893-1965) from inside a prisoner of war camp, neatly closing the circle of this posting with Viktor Böhm's print from Siberia.

A great but outside Russia hardly known printmaker Anna Ostroumova-Lebedava (1871-1955) showing St. Petersburg and Orion obviously inspired by the many Japanese examples for instance by Kobayashi Kiyoshika (1847-1915) who created several star filled prints and will be awarded his own posting soon.

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Anatoliy Markusha a contemporary Russian illustrator and Emil Schuller (?) who worked for the "Jugend" Magazine around 1915. There are so many more fine examples there will be definitely be a Part II soon.

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

Visit my new project:

www.galeriesouris.nl

for vintage and rare prints from my collection

Monday, 5 September 2011

Viktor Böhm

Viktor Böhm
(1880 Brno – 1954 München)

Czech/German printmaker and painter.

Sometimes Ebay is like a treasure cove. Finding this extra ordinairy woodblock print asked for an impulsive and immediate posting. It is signed and dated 1925. By a very talented but obscured printmaker. Still 9 days (sorry, it was sold or withdrawn within an hour after editing this article) to go. It’s neither befitting my budget in September nor is it in my field of collecting. So following in the footsteps of (are we just going to miss him) Clive's legendary "to have and to hang": take your chance. It certainly is very special, very rare and of great skill and the highest artistic quality. A little research on the www. resulted in just a few other but quite amazing prints by this Czech born printmaker

It is written that Viktor Böhm studied in the Akademie für Bildende Kunst both in Vienna and in München where he later settled as an artist. He travelled into Scandinavia, Galicia (N.-Spain), Hungary and Italy.

But how he came to make these Chinese and Russian prints heaven may know. His future biographer will certainly have look deeper into Viktors travelling history account.