Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Portrait of Valentiner I1923

Not on view

Woodcut print with bold black ink, depicting an angular, faceted male face in the foreground and a small idol-like figure to the upper left, on cream paper

Artist or Maker: Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Germany, 1884-1976
Title: Portrait of Valentiner I
Place Made: Germany
Date Made: 1923
Medium: woodcut
Dimensions: Image: 19 9/16 x 15 1/2 in. (49.69 x 39.37 cm); Sheet: 24 13/16 x 15 1/2 in. (63.02 x 39.37 cm)
Credit Line: The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Accession Number: M.82.287.60
Classification: Prints
Collecting Area: Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Curatorial Notes: The German-born art historian Wilhelm Valentiner was a major influence on art museums in the United States. He worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, founded the journal Art in America, and was director of the Detroit Institute of the Arts. In 1945 he was appointed consulting director for the art collection at LACMA’s precursor, the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, about whom Valentiner wrote a monograph, portrays him with asymmetrical eyes, a trait the artist also applied to depictions of Christ. The gaze suggests one with a strong inner vision who also keeps watch on the world around him.

Exhibition Label: The Expressive Gaze: Portraits and Self-Portraits, 2022, Erin Maynes
Selected Bibliography: Davis, Bruce. German Expressionist Prints and Drawings: The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989; Munich, Germany: Prestel, 1989.
Thiem, Gunther. Prints by Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: A Centenary Celebration. Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Los Angeles, 1985.
Chipp, Herschel B. and Karin Breuer. The Human Image in German Expressionist Graphic Art From the Robert Gore Rifkind Foundation. Berkeley: University Art Museum, Berkeley, 1981.
Schapire, Rosa. Karl Schmidt-Rottluffs graphisches Werk bis 1923. Berlin: Euphorion Verlag, 1924.
Muchnic, Suzanne. LACMA So Far: Portrait of a Museum in the Making. San Marino, California: Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 2015.
Copyright: © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Related Exhibitions

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Portrait of Valentiner I1923

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Germany, 1884-1976
Title: Portrait of Valentiner I
Place Made: Germany
Date Made: 1923
Medium: woodcut
Dimensions: Image: 19 9/16 x 15 1/2 in. (49.69 x 39.37 cm); Sheet: 24 13/16 x 15 1/2 in. (63.02 x 39.37 cm)
Credit Line: The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Accession Number: M.82.287.60
Classification: Prints
Collecting Area: Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies
Curatorial Notes: The German-born art historian Wilhelm Valentiner was a major influence on art museums in the United States. He worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, founded the journal Art in America, and was director of the Detroit Institute of the Arts. In 1945 he was appointed consulting director for the art collection at LACMA’s precursor, the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, about whom Valentiner wrote a monograph, portrays him with asymmetrical eyes, a trait the artist also applied to depictions of Christ. The gaze suggests one with a strong inner vision who also keeps watch on the world around him.

Exhibition Label: The Expressive Gaze: Portraits and Self-Portraits, 2022, Erin Maynes
Selected Bibliography: Davis, Bruce. German Expressionist Prints and Drawings: The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989; Munich, Germany: Prestel, 1989.
Thiem, Gunther. Prints by Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff: A Centenary Celebration. Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Los Angeles, 1985.
Chipp, Herschel B. and Karin Breuer. The Human Image in German Expressionist Graphic Art From the Robert Gore Rifkind Foundation. Berkeley: University Art Museum, Berkeley, 1981.
Schapire, Rosa. Karl Schmidt-Rottluffs graphisches Werk bis 1923. Berlin: Euphorion Verlag, 1924.
Muchnic, Suzanne. LACMA So Far: Portrait of a Museum in the Making. San Marino, California: Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 2015.