Hermann Kätelhön, Two Miners

Hermann Kätelhön, Two MinersThis exquisite woodcut by German illustrator Herman Ktelhn (1884 1940) depicts two miners. They stand before the entrance of a mine both with rugged features and tired expressions. Between 1918 and 1940, Ktelhn produced various etchings and lithographs describing the ever industrialised German landscape and the workers labouring within it. He held a deep respect for the mining community and immersed himself in its claustrophobic underground world.

Note also the discarded flintlock pistol

Numerous artists of this period were a little obsessed with those that worked the land in rural Italy

Alongside her is a partially made garment

Condition: Areas of overpainting

While an older lady

and aimed to convey a feeling rather than simply a good likeness of the scenery before them

when a vacancy will occur in that ship

Overall size: 20” x 23” / 51cm x 58cm

The composition is reminiscent of earlier continental landscapes such as those by French artist

The painting is signed/dated in the lower right and housed within a gilded frame that’s probably its original

The painting is signed/dated in the upper left and housed within a decorative swept frame that’s probably the original

Size 26½” x 37” / 67cm x 94cm