Landscape (Landschap)
Woodcut, 1923, edition unknown. 10 1/2 x 15 3/8 in. Signed and dated in pencil. This is a superb impression printed on light cream wove paper. The margins are full and the condition is fine. (There's a slight line from an old mat around the image.) This outstanding print exemplifies the German artistic influence on Wiegers during the 1920s and beyond. He spent time in Davos, Switzerland in 1920-21 and his neighbor was Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. They worked together and became good friends. After returning to Groningen, Wiegers's work flourished in this expressionist style and the movement became known as de Ploeg (the Plow). Other Dutch artists followed in this path including Jan Altink, Johan Dijkstra, Jan van der Zee among others. Works from this early period are rare and few impressions were printed to begin with. (There's pencil writing in the lower left corner probably reading "2ep/6" which could well represent the printing. This impression was possibly printed a little later during the 1930s-1940s.
SOLD

Russian Couple Dancing
Woodcut printed in colors, 1921, Extremely rare; proofs only. 13 x 10 1/2 in. The print is signed and dated in pencil. It's a fine impression printed on a heavy wove paper in very good condition. (Faint foxing in the margins.) The sheet is full and untrimmed, watermark CIVICA HUBER FRERES WINTERTHUR SUISSE CORONA. This is a masterful example of Wiegers' work done just after he moved to Davos, Switzerland and was living near Kirchner. A color variation of our print in the Groninger Museum (Holland) is illustrated on page 161 of De Ceremoniemeester Heeft Het Spel Laten Beginnen (2002). Wiegers is the key figure in the development of the de Ploeg group of artists working in Holland during the 1920s and 1930s. His important connection to Kirchner is more fully discussed in the recent publication, "Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Friends; Expressionism from the Swiss Alps," by Stutzer, Vitali, et al.(2007). This book accompanied an exhibition by this name in Germany and Holland. (See pages 228-254.)
SOLD

The Chess Players
Woodcut, circa 1925, edition unknown. 19 1/4 x 15 1/8 in. Signed in pencil, lower right. This is a fine impression printed on fairly thin Japanese paper. The margins are wide and the condition is good. This large woodcut is illustrated on page 131 of the 2002 Groninger Museum retrospective catalog of Wiegers work, "De Ceremoniemeester Heeft Het Spel Laten Beginnen." This is a later printing from the block, probably done in the 1950s.
$2,000

The House of Ernst Kirchner in Davos, Switzerland (Het Huis van Ernst Kirchner in Davos, Switzerland)
Woodcut, 1920-24, edition unknown. 12 x 11 1/2 in. Signed in pencil. This is a fine, rich impression of this rare print. The paper is a thin Japanese and the margins are probably full. The condition is fine apart from very tiny specks of foxing showing primarily in the margins. Wiegers traveled to Davos in 1920 to undergo treatment for pneumonia. The artist and his family later moved into a farmhouse on Langmatt, a mountain slope. Shortly thereafter he met Kirchner who lived very close by. They soon began to work together almost daily and both artists were inspired by the beauty of the surrounding mountainous landscape. This is clearly one of Wiegers' finest woodcuts and it epitomizes the connection between the two artists. Early impressions of this print are very hard to come by and this one was printed a little later, probably in the 1940s. This print is illustrated on page 50 of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Friends, edited by Beat Stutzer, Samuel Vitali, et al. (2007) and on page 94 of De Ploeg 1918-1930 by Adriaan Venema, (1978).
$2,750