Young lady lying – Otto Goetze, ca. 1920

Young lady lying on her side, etching made around 1920 by Otto Goetze. Pencil-signed lower right. Size (plate mark): 21.2 × 28.4 cm.

Otto Goetze (1868-1931) began his artistic career in his hometown of Leipzig, at the Königliche Kunstakademie und Kunstgewerbeschule. He would then progress to the Munich Akademie der Bildenden Künste, one of the oldest and most esteemed in the country. Here, he would receive tutelage from noted artist Alexander von Liezen-Mayer (1839-1898).

Goetze would stick to this more classically aligned painterly path in his early career. Once he had graduated from his studies, he worked as a portrait painter, eventually moving to the German capital of Berlin to pursue more clients and business. However, in the early 20th century he would turn his attention towards etching as his main form of artistic output.

Goetze’s etchings have a singularity of style and precision. Every cut made into the metal, every intention in building up an image, can be seen in his works. This adds a certain authenticity, as well as demonstrating his skill, for not a line looks out of place. Significantly, Goetze chose to depict predominantly elegant female figures. Any mistakes in the rendering of their images would surely undermine their beauty.

There is a sense of spiritedness in his etchings which seems very evocative of the ever-changing times at the turn of the 19th century into the 20th century. Women gaze with coy, knowing expressions, or are engaged in leisure activities. Writing letters, resting in nude repose, or admiring their own beauty. Whilst there is a sense of fun to these images, there is also a reflective quality, perhaps representing the many social and political changes underway in the early 20th century.

Goetze exhibited successfully in Germany, including at the Internationale Ausstellung für Buchgewerbe und Graphik (Bugra) in 1914, for which he was awarded the Sächsischer Staatspreis. He was also a member of the Reichsverband Bildender Künstler Deutschlands, which supported professional artists.

Price: Euro 575,-