Artist: Ludwig Hohlwein German (1874-1949)
Title: Das Indische Grabmal
Plate: H. 54
Original lithograph plate from the "Ludwig Hohlwein" publication,
Printed in Berlin 1926.
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat via Fedex.
Certificate of Authenticity.
Sheet Size: 8 3/4 in x 11 3/4 in 22 cm x 30 cm
Price: $550.00 Rare
"Hohlwein's special talent of applying colours is evidenced in the thrilling design for "The Indian Tomb," an enormously popular action/adventure movie of it's day. Based on a novel by Thea von Harbau (an ambitious German writer whose biggest achievement was to marry the renowned Fritz Lang and collaborate with him on virtually all of his scenarios) which might have well been subtitled "The Sheik Meets Indiana Jones." Both the novel and the movie are full of intrigue and treachery in exotic locations, sizzling romance and dramatic action, capped with a brave self sacrifice by the beautiful heroine. The poster showcases the mausoleum commissioned by the Maharajah of Eschnapur as the future sepulcher for a lovely young dancer taken for his bride and the ominous tiger from a hunt scene, whose eyes spectacularly share the same golden hue as the domes background architecture. Rare!" (Rennert, PAI-XXIV)
Leading poster historian Alain Weill comments that "Hohlwein was the most prolific and brilliant German posterist of the 20th century...Beginning with his first efforts, Hohlwein found his style with disconcerting facility. It would vary little for the next forty years. The drawing was perfect from the start, nothing seemed alien to him, and in any case, nothing posed a problem for him. His figures are full of touches of color and a play of light and shade that brings them out of their background and gives them substance "(Weill) Self-taught as a graphic designer, he was greatly influenced by the brilliant work of Beggarstaff.
"His special way of applying colors, letting them dry at different times, and printing one on top of the other, producing modulations of shading, has often been copied, but never equaled. He belonged to no school or group, his art and personality are an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of German poster art" (Rademacher, p. 22).