1969 Aquatone Print Alfred Kubin Modern Art Creepy Dark King Royalty XDG2
CONDITION
This 42+ year old Item is rated Near Mint / Very Fine+. Small wrinkle - top right corner. No natural defects. No surface rub. No tears. No water damage.
- Product Type: Original Aquatone Print; Color
- Grade: Near Mint / Very Fine+
- Dimensions: Approximately 9 x 7.5 inches; 23 x 19 cm
- Authentication: Serial-Numbered Certificate of Authenticity w/ Full Provenance
- Protection: Packaged in a custom archival sleeve with an acid-free black board (great for display, gift-giving, and preservation)
This piece was illustrated by Kubin, Alfred. Artist signature in print - bottom right of image.
Alfred Kubin
Alfred Kubin (1877-1959) was a Bohemian artist hailing from Leitmeritz. While Kubin lacked significant formal art training, his childhood and personal experiences proved to be far more inspirational, and soon he became a revered artist in Germany. At the tender age of ten, Kubin bared witness to his motherÕs death and his fatherÕs overwhelming grief. A year after his motherÕs death, Kubin's father married his widowÕs sister. However, she died not long after due to childbirth complications, which sent KubinÕs father into a deeper canyon of depression and anger. Consequently, his father often took out his rage on Kubin, beating him and prohibiting him from his presence. Later, his father sent him to live with a photography mentor, where Kubin served as an apprentice. Unfortunately, this apprenticeship did not survive long as Kubin began drinking heavily and chasing women who never returned his affections. Slipping into a deep depression himself, Kubin studied an anatomical chart, marked a point on his right temple and took a cheap and rusty gun out to his motherÕs grave to commit suicide. He prayed for guidance, but eventually pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire, and Kubin did not have the heart to try again. Seeking solace, he returned to his childhood home, but was promptly sent back to his mentor, which he referred to as an uncle. However, after previously performing so poorly as an apprentice, Kubin was rejected by his ÒuncleÓ and banished from his home, rendering him completely alone and homeless. Kubin then decided to join the Austrian Army, but was discharged after suffering a debilitating illness, which included loss of consciousness and severe and violent cramp attacks. Spending three months recovering in the military hospital, Kubin witnessed the sick, the dying, and the suicides. He tried to make himself useful during his medical stay by recording patientsÕ case histories, but was eventually discharged from the army when he recovered from his illness. Sometime later, Kubin enrolled at the Munich Art Academy, but failed to achieve much until a peer stumbled across his morbid sketches and encouraged him to exhibit his works. Consequently, Kubin did so with great success, and soon his art was being displayed in various venues, including the Cassirer Gallery in Berlin, the Garvens Gallery in Hanover, the Rudolfinum in Prague, and many more. In 1903, at the age of 25, Kubin finally fell in love and became engaged to a woman named Emmy Bayer, who later developed an illness while visiting Kubin in Munich, and tragically died ten days later. Some time later, after mourning the loss of his fiancŽ, Kubin met a widow named Hedwig Grundler, who he eventually married. Unfortunately, the comfort he found in this love dried up most of his artistic ambitions and visions, and an apathetic Kubin became settled into the quaint country life. Years later, Kubin was afflicted with an intestinal disorder. He abandoned his rural life with his wife and traveled to Bosnia and Dalmatia to cope with the strain and stress of the troubling illness. Shortly after his return, KubinÕs father passed away. Then, his wife contracted an illness, which forced her into a hospital. Alone again, Kubin lost complete artistic desire. In an effort to relieve his recurrent depression, he traveled with a friend to Italy, where he was inspired by the landÕs beauty. Soon, Kubin began to write and illustrate his own novels, which proved very successful. Quite notably, he also illustrated for Edgar Allen Poe and Kafka. Then, in 1945, upon the close of World War II, Kubin, while working on another novel in his home, was bombarded by flying shell fragments, which spared his life, but significantly damaged his home. A few years later, Kubin was, once again, struck by heartache when his wife eventually died after enduring her long-standing illness. Nearly ten years later, Kubin passed away at the old age of 82.
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