Old Man praying (Sch. 173; W. 205)

Details

Edvard Munch
Old Man praying (Sch. 173; W. 205)
woodcut printed in brown, 1902, on grey laid paper, signed in pencil, an early trial proof of this very rare woodcut, printed either by the artist or by Lassally, with wide margins, inscribed in pencil in the lower margin by another hand 122d. Rückseite, some surface dirt in the margins, a few short tears at the sheet edges, laid down at the edges verso; with an impression of Woman bathing (Sch. 101; W. 113) on the reverse, woodcut printed in black, 1897, a rich, dark impression of this very rare print, Woll's second state (of three), not signed
B. 460 x 325 mm., S. 600 x 430 mm. (W. 205)
B. 242 x 327 mm. (W. 113)

Provenance

Dr. Curt Glaser (1879-1943), Berlin; the forced sale of his collection, Max Perl, Berlin, 18 and 19 May 1933, lot 1144 (estimate 60 M).
Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin (cf. L. 1606), with their acquisition stamp dated 1933 (this stamp not in Lugt), inventory numbers 30 & 31 in pencil; with their de-accession stamp dated 2012 in pencil on the mount (not in Lugt).
Restituted to the heirs of Dr. Curt Glaser in 2012.

Literature

Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch - The Complete Graphic Work, Philip Wilson Publishers, London, in association with the Munch-Museet, Oslo, 2001, no. 205 (this impression cited).

Special Notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Further Details

For more information about the provenance of this lot see the note for lot 70.

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Lot Essay

This woodcut is one of the few works in Munch's oeuvre to depict his father, Dr. Christian Munch. A devout man, his religious faith following the death of his wife became increasingly severe. This is revealed in the following account of a dispute with his father, which prompted the making of this print:
'I happened to argue with my father one evening regarding the duration of the unbeliever's agony in hellAs I saw it, no sin was so great that God would extend the agony beyond a thousand years. But father saw it differently and claimed that the torment would last a thousand times a thousand years. I refused to give in and finally stalked out in a huff slamming the door behind me. Of course, it didn't take me long to walk off my anger, and I soon returned home to put things right with father. When I got there he had gone to his bedroom. From the door which I had opened quietly I saw him kneeling by his bed, something I had never seen him do before. I closed the door gently and went to my own room. There, restless and unable to sleep, I brought out my sketchbook and started to draw. I drew my father kneeling by his bed. The soft light on the night-stand cast a yellow glow over his night shirt. I filled in the colours. As soon as it was finished I went to bed and slept soundly.' (Edvard Munch, quoted in: The Prints of Edvard Munch: Mirror of his Life, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Ohio, 1983, p. 131-132).
Woll records a total of 25 impressions of Old Man praying and seven impressions of Woman bathing in public collections, including the present impressions printed recto and verso on one sheet.
For more information about the provenance, see lot 70.

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