Regensburg

 

Max Pollak

  1886 - 1970 (biography)

1919  

etching and drypoint on 200-year-old ledger paper 

7 7/8 x 7 1/4" platemark 

pencil, lower right 

not stated; presumed fewer than 20 impressions 

pencil titled, lower left; bears the red Friedl Pollak Collection stamp, lower left sheet corner; in pencil, verso: "Christenlehre Zeugnis fur Johann Leusch" 

 

thin, oatmeal wove ledger paper with EIBENSCHITZ watermark (likely made in the town of Eibenschutz, Moravia, Czech Republic) 

published 

artist 

23981 

$450.00 

Regensburg is located along the Danube River in Bavaria, in the southeastern region of Germany. Max Pollak has depicted the silhouette of St. Peter's Church among the rooftops of Old Town, the arches of the Stone Bridge strung across the Danube in the foreground.

A note from Pollak on the original matting stated that he'd printed this work on 200-year-old paper. It features faded, elegantly wrought handwriting in brown ink on the verso. This suggests he may have used the fine, handmade paper from an antique ledger book, the use of which was popularized in printmaking by James McNeill Whistler (whose work no doubt inspired Pollak's own early works).

A note on the verso annotation from a Pollak enthusiast: 'The verso text: "Christenlehre Zeugnis für Johann Leusch." Christenlehre was a tradition in German churches for young people who were in preparation for confirmation. Normally you got a Zeugnis (= certificate) like in school about this time (normally around 4 - 6 weeks).'