Signed Etching of Albert Einstein

Germany: np, 1918. First. Very Good. Hermann Struck. ARTIST'S PROOF OF EINSTEIN ETCHING, SIGNED BY EINSTEIN AND THE ARTIST HERMAN STRUCK. Hermann Struck was born in Berlin in 1876. Though a devout Jew, Struck spent much of his life immersed in the world of secular German art. Struck rose to prominence through graphic art and etching. His 1908 Die Kunst des Radierens (The Art of Etching) proved a seminal guidebook in graphic design. Struck mostly practiced page-sized etching, working on landscapes and portraits of everyday individuals. He was often commissioned to create portraits of notable public figures (Einstein, Freud, Wilde, amongst others). Struck was also celebrated for his essays, ranging in focus from artistic intent to Zionist thought. Barred from teaching in Germany because of his religion, Struck immigrated to the British mandate of Palestine in 1922, returning to Berlin every summer until the Nazi ascension to power. Struck died in Haifa, in 1944. Today, there is a Hermann Struck Museum in the city of Haifa [Leo Baeck Institute].

Einstein and Struck carried out a personal correspondence, and considered each other friends. Struck’s work challenged and impressed Einstein, as articulated in a 1922 letter, written after Struck gifted Einstein an engraving of an elderly Jew in Jaffa:

“You have given me the warmest joy with your wonderful gift. Your work has found a favorable place above my desk, and I never tire of delving into the distinctive, expressive face of the old man, which you have captured and rendered so wonderfully…. But simplicity demands that I confess: something within me does not fully harmonize with it; there is something dark and heavy about it. Perhaps this only reflects a lack of self-knowledge, perhaps the pressure of modeling has given it this stronger expression—I must reflect on it again.”

This piece features an engraved portrait of Albert Einstein by Hermann Struck, signed and dated by Einstein at the lower bottom right, beneath the etching ("Albert Einstein. 1931"). It is identified as the artist’s proof, marked “proof” in pencil by Struck beside Einstein’s signature. Signed by Struck underneath the etching at the bottom left ("Hermann Struck").

Size: Image alone = approx. 8.25 x 6 in; sight = approx. 7x10in. Matted and framed under UV-protecting glass to an overall size of 16x20 in. Some foxing around borders; image generally fine.

References:
- Albert Einstein to Hermann Struck, Berlin, 1922.
- Leo Baeck Institute. “Hermann Struck.” Leo Baeck Institute. (Inventory #: 2971)