You will find it on British ebay. I would take the date of 1897 given by the dealer with considerable caution because this would make it one of the very earliest of all European colour woodcuts, and interesting as Moll can be, I don't think innovation of that kind could be attached to his name. Only Peter Behrens, and possibly Emil Orlik and Bernhard Pankok, were active in the field in central Europe around then, so you would be paying at least £89 for something with a dubious date. Add to that £8.50 for delivery, and you have the perfect ebay money-spinner.
I believe that the date is correct. What was going on with Moll and the early Secessionist members makes perfect sense. Rather than looking at is as a woodcut one might better view it as an early piece of Secessionist work.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't know all that much about Moll but it is a colour woodcut and he had to have mastered the technique by 1897 to make such a handsome plate. Believing things is one thing, evidence is another.
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