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34. Fritz Eichenberg (1901-1990) Isaiah 11
Wood engraving, 1976, 214 x 152 mm. Fine impression on wove paper with good margins, signed in pen and ink; old hinge marks verso. The title refers to the prophecy in the Bible, Isaiah, 11:6 : “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…and a little child shall lead them,” a subject also known as “The Peaceable Kingdom.” But the image! It is almost like Isaiah meets Arcimboldo, a “double image” in that the massive and powerful head is constructed entirely of representations of animals and plants, with a child caressing a snake and in the protective embrace of large bear. The image is anything but frightening – quite the opposite – but it is a unique vision of the subject, a sign, if one wants to read into it, that the peaceable kingdom, if it comes, must begin within ourselves. Eichenberg, as a visionary, is much underrated. |
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