Untitled (after his painting "Valkyrie of the Sea") by Xavier Martinez

Untitled (after his painting Valkyrie of the Sea) by Xavier Martinez

Untitled (after his painting "Valkyrie of the Sea")

Xavier Martinez

Please call us at 707-546-7352 or email artannex@aol.com to purchase this item.
Title

Untitled (after his painting "Valkyrie of the Sea")

 
Artist
Year
c. 1920  
Technique
graphite frottage 
Image Size
4 7/16 x 4 5/16" image and paper size 
Signature
artist's monogram in lower right (impressed into image without ink) 
Edition Size
1 of 1 unique 
Annotations
 
Reference
 
Paper
antique-white wove 
State
 
Publisher
 
Inventory ID
17429 
Price
$650.00 
Description

A frottage, like a "rubbing", is an image that has been drawn without ink into a forgiving material (paper, wood, etc.), and rubbed with a dry media, such as graphite, crayon, or charcoal, to pick up the image.

In the 1910s Xavier Martinez created the color monotype “Valkyrie of the Sea,” an image of a long-haired woman riding a fish through the deep ocean, perhaps on a valkyrie’s journey to retrieve a fallen warrior for transport to Valhalla. In addition to the monotype, two impressions done in frottage - made around the same time and exploring the same topic - were created by Martinez, of which this is one. Another frottage of a nude woman dancing appears to have been done at the same time in the same format, perhaps in preparation for a series

.

Figures from Norse mythology, valkyries are akin to sprites, and their purpose is to choose which warriors will live or die in battle; of the dead, they take half to Valhalla; the other half are given to the goddess Freyja. One such telling describes Sigrun, a valkyrie who arrives at her destination through air and sea to address the warrior Helgi before he sails to battle.

 
Please call us at 707-546-7352 or email artannex@aol.com to purchase this item.