Horst Janssen (1929–1995) - Heftige Landschaft

Horst Janssen, Fierce Landscape, monogrammed, etching 1984

Artist: Horst Janssen
Title: Rugged Landscape
Condition: very good
Technique: Etching (drypoint / etching technique)
Width: approx. 40.8 cm (sheet size)
Height: approx. 33 cm (sheet size)
Framing: Unrestrained
Material: paper
Year: 1984
Signature: In the lower right below the depiction, pencil-monogrammed “HJ.”
Country: Germany
Epoch: 1980–1990
Abstract-expressive landscape depiction with highly moved, almost eruptive linework. The composition is shaped by a dense network of etched and scratched lines, dripping forms and flatly condensed areas that evoke trees, roots or rugged vegetation, without clearly naming them. The etching lives on a tense alternation between bright, openly left parts and dark, massively revised zones. Characteristic of Horst Janssen's late work here is the gestural freedom of the line as well as the deliberate overlay of different print states, through which the impression of a 'fierce', in-motion landscape arises.

Sheet size approx. 40.8 × 33 cm. Image size approx. 29.2 × 20.4 cm.

Very good condition (see illustrations).
Text at the bottom right of the front side, written in pencil: “HJ”.
Text stamped on the bottom left of the reverse side: 'griffelkunst'.
Text at the bottom left on the back in pencil: 'Scharff S6 Z' and '233 B5'.

Horst Janssen (1929–1995) was one of the most important German draftsmen and graphic artists of the postwar period. Born in Hamburg, he developed an extraordinarily extensive œuvre of drawings, etchings, woodcuts, lithographs, and book illustrations. Janssen was regarded as a virtuoso master of printmaking, particularly of etching, which he repeatedly explored technically and formally. Landscapes, self-portraits, studies of nature, and existential themes occupy a central place in his work.

His works are represented in numerous public collections, including the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Museum of Arts and Crafts Hamburg, as well as in international museums and private collections. Horst Janssen is one of the most influential figures in 20th-century German graphic art.