Fight Between Centaurs from "Intermezzi"

Fight Between Centaurs from"Intermezzi"   is an original print realized by  Max Klinger  in 1881.

Signature  and number of the print on plate.

Black and white etching and aquatint. Original title: Kampfende Centauren .

The artwork is from the portfolio   Intermezzi, Opus IV , published by Theo Stroefer's Kunstverlag, Munich, in 1881.

Good conditions, except for a fold of paper on the right and some light folds along the higher margin.

The portfolio is composed of 12 plates, unrelated to any conceptual link, whose title is a clear reference to music production. The suite was designed by the engraver and art dealer Herman Sagert. The two initial and final plates are the intermezzos, whilst the other eight depict mythological and literary themes. The plates from 3 to 6 represent centaurs, while from 7 to 10 they illustrate " Simplicius Simplicissimus ", a picaresque novel of the lower Baroque style, written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, and inspired by the events of the Thirty Years' War.

Plate number V,  Fight Between Centaurs , represents two centaurs while fighting. In the foreground, a fascinating mountainous landscape surrounds the scene, creating an almost surreal atmosphere between the silence of nature and the noise caused by the legendary creatures.

Reference :

Max Klinger Inconscio, mito e passioni alle origini del destino dell'uomo , curated by Patrizia Foglia and Diego Galizzi, Ceribelli Editore, 2019, p. 44.

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