Max Liebermann | Ten autograph letters signed, to Vittorio Pica, 1901-1924

Max Liebermann

Ten autograph letters signed ("Max Liebermann"), in French and German, to Vittorio Pica

discussing matters relating to exhibitions, mentioning the exhibition of a painting by 'the famous Manet', referring to his paintings, including Samson and Delilah, and his portrait of Richard Strauss, noting that he is aware of the change in artistic taste that has taken place during the last ten or fifteen years [before 1922] and that he is no longer what one would call modern, also mentioning the Secession, reviews of his work, his ill health, the favourable attitude of the government concerning the exhibition of German art in Venice, and giving his permission for some of his works to be photographed

...Je n'ignore pas le changement que le goût artistique a subi dans les derniers douze ou quinze ans et que je ne suis plus ce qu'on appelle un moderne...

23 pages, various sizes, one on printed stationery of the Berlin Secession, one a postcard, with 7 autograph envelopes, one inscribed visiting card and a postcard with date and signature only ("Berlin...1908 Max Liebermann"), Berlin and elsewhere, 1901-1924

A good collection of letters by the German painter and printmaker Max Liebermann (1847-1935), covering the period shortly after the founding of the Berlin Secession and the early 1920s when he was president of the Berlin Academy. Liebermann's distinguished correspondent, Vittorio Pica, was a noted Italian art critic and, from 1920 to 1926, General Secretary of the Venice Biennale.