Portrait

The graphic depicts a portrait of the eminent German writer Gerhard Hauptmann in a difficult shot, almost straight on. Otto Hettner limited himself to just the head but portrayed it masterfully, both in his fidelity to the model and his ability to convey his psyche. In the expressive face, he reflected the experience and life wisdom of the master of the pen. The portrait of Hauptmann, made in 1923 using the lithographic technique, was printed on handmade ribbed paper with the watermark of the Johann Wilhelm Zanders paper mill in Bergisch Gladbach. It is the only portrait graphic among Hettner's works stored in the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin. Gerhard Hauptmann was born in 1862 in Obersalzbrunn, present-day Szczawno, and died in 1946 in Jagniątków near Jelenia Góra. He took up social and moral issues from a naturalist position. He wrote dramas, lyric and prose pieces. He became famous for his historical dramas: The Weavers (1892), about the Silesian weavers' uprising in 1844 and Florian Geyer (1896), about the peasants' war in 1525. In his later works, without giving up historical themes, he also used elements of fantasy and myths and symbolism stylistics. He strove to present contemporary problems of people's everyday lives resulting from political, historical and socio-economic changes in a veiled way. Otto Hettner was born in Dresden in 1875 and died there in 1931. He began his art studies in Karlsruhe at the Grand-Ducal Baden School of Art and continued them in Paris. He was a versatile artist, painter, sculptor and graphic artist. After a phase of study trips, he worked in Berlin, designing monumental compositions. He worked, among others, on the frescoes Deluge in 1915-1916 and Parnassus in 1917-1919, which were intended for the Szczecin Municipal Museum. He sought inspiration for these works in Puvis de Chavannes and Hans von Marées oeuvre.

Ewa Gwiazdowska