Abduction (plate nine from Paraphrase on the Finding of a Glove)

Art Historical Context

Max Klinger’s *Abduction* forms the ninth plate in his groundbreaking 1881 cycle *Paraphrase on the Finding of a Glove*. Created when the German artist was just twenty-five, the series follows the mysterious life of a lost lady’s glove, transforming an everyday object into the focus of erotic longing, fantasy, and unease. Klinger, later associated with Symbolism, uses the glove as a vehicle for exploring psychological depths that would later influence the Surrealists. Printed in etching, drypoint, and aquatint on chine collé, the work showcases the tonal richness and precise line possible in these intaglio techniques. The first-edition, second-state impression now at the Metropolitan Museum reveals delicate textures that heighten the dreamlike atmosphere. Tags noting birds, hands, and flowers suggest a scene charged with symbolic tension, where natural elements interact with human forms in ways that blur reality and imagination. Acquired by the Met in 2009, *Abduction* remains a compelling example of how nineteenth-century printmaking could convey modern anxieties and desires through intricate narrative imagery.

About the Artist

F. Felsing|Max Klinger (German|German) · |1857 – |1920

|German, Leipzig 1857–1920 Großjena