Edvard Munch 1863-1944

Lithograph printed in black with strong relief from the stone, 1896, probably Woll's fifth (final) state, signed in pencil, on thick japan paper, with wide margins, in good condition apart from hairline flattened creases visible verso, a backed triangular repair at upper right edge of sheet well away from image, very slight paper discoloration

Previously sold at Karl & Faber, Sammlung R. Piper, Munich, 29-30th June 1981, lot 430

Ex coll. Reinhard Piper, Munich, with his stamp verso

 

Reinhard Piper (1879-1953) was the founder of the Munich publishing house R. Piper & Co. From 1904 until World War II, his publications played a central role in the promotion of German avant-garde art. He was in close contact with many artists, including the artists of the Blaue Reiter, whose almanac he published. A close friend and patron of artists such as Ernst Barlach and Max Beckmann, Piper assembled an impressive collection of works on paper.

This lithograph was executed in 1896, the year Munch moved to Paris and began to concentrate on printmaking, an activity he had begun several years earlier.  Rather than continuing to simply create graphic versions of his famous paintings, in Paris he began to conceive and execute motifs exclusively for prints.  On the Waves of Love is one such motif which is unusual in that there is no record of a painted version.