Downfall, from A Life
1884
Medium
Etching, with aquatint and drypoint on ivory China paper, laid down on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 29.5 × 23.8 cm (11 5/8 × 9 3/8 in.); Plate: 34.4 × 28.6 cm (13 9/16 × 11 5/16 in.); Primary support: 33.1 × 27.3 cm (13 1/16 × 10 3/4 in.); Secondary support, approx: 78.8 × 57.5 cm (31 1/16 × 22 11/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
155572
Art Historical Context
Max Klinger's *Downfall*, created in 1884, is a striking plate from his seminal print cycle *A Life* (*Ein Leben*), a series ten etchings that allegorically traces the human from birth to death. This German Symbolist artist's visionary work blends psychological depth with fantastical imagery, drawing on Romantic and fantastical traditions to explore life's triumphs, desires, and inevitable decay. *Downfall* captures a pivotal moment of decline, rendered with haunting intensity on ivory China paper, then laid down on cream laid paper for preservation. Klinger's mastery shines in his innovative...
About the Artist
Max Klinger · 1857–1920
Max Klinger, born on February 18, 1857, in Leipzig to a wealthy family, emerged as one of Germany's most innovative artists across painting, sculpture, printmaking, and graphics. Demonstrating early talent, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe in 1874 as a pupil of Karl Gussow, following his teacher to the Berlin Academy upon Gussow's appointment as director, and graduated in 1877 ...