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Interpretation of the Finding of a Glove, portfolio cover

Interpretation of the Finding of a Glove, portfolio cover

(German, 1857–1920)
(German, active 1880s)
1880-1881; published 1882
Medium/TechniquePortfolio cover. Letterpress on paper, adhered to cardboard covers and hinged; ribbon ties; marbled paper lining.
DimensionsHeight x width: 54.2 × 72.5 cm (21 5/16 × 28 9/16 in.)
Credit LineKatherine E. Bullard Fund in memory of Francis Bullard
Accession number2021.288.12
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPrints
Description
This print portfolio ranks among the most important works of German symbolism by one of the avant-garde’s leading artists, Max Klinger. The imagery traces a dream-like narrative of obsession with a woman and her glove. The subject has roots in Romantic literature, for example the stories of E.T.A. Hoffman, as well as descriptions of modern fashion by such writers as Octave Uzanne. It anticipates the work of Sigmund Freud on fetish objects.
InscriptionsIn letterpress (?): Paraphrase / über den / Fund eines Handschuhes. / 10 Blätter / componiert und radiert / von / Max Klinger. / Rad. Op. VI. II. Ausgabe. Exemplar No. [in ms.] 17. / München / Druck von Friedr. Felsing / August 1882
Provenance2020, sold from a private collection, Cologne, to Gillis Goldman Fine Art, Brussels; 2021, sold by Gillis Goldman to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 14, 2021)