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Hermann Struck

Portrait of Oscar Wilde

Maker

Hermann Struck (German, 1876-1944)

Title

Portrait of Oscar Wilde

Year

ca. 1912

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

soft-ground etching

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 14.9 x 10.5 cm (5 7/8 x 4 1/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Martin Birnbaum

Object Number

24.084

Type

Exhibition History

Facing Artists
Twentieth Century Portraits from the Collection
Feb 27, 2009 – Jul 31, 2009

Label copy

Hermann Struck studied at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and appeared to have a bright future as a teacher there, but was denied the right to teach

because he was Jewish. An early Zionist, he signed his works with the initials of his Jewish name, Chaim Aaron ben David, and a Star of David, as seen here. Struck

mentored several notable artists in the art of etching, including Marc Chagall, Lovis Corinth, and Max Liebermann, and published the seminal instruction

manual Die Kunst des Radierens (The Art of Etching) in 1908. On a visit to England he made portraits of several leading English cultural luminaries, including the writer Oscar Wilde (Irish, 1854-1900), who died before Struck made the print. Struck’s refined grasp of etching is evident in his use of soft-ground, a technique imitating soft, graphite drawing.

Image use

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Hermann Struck (German, 1876-1944)
Portrait of Oscar Wilde, ca. 1912
Soft-ground etching on green paper
Plate: 14.9 x 10.5 cm (5 7/8 x 4 1/8 inches)
Gift of Martin Birnbaum 24.084

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