Ludwig Markus. Portfolio of 16 original prints. "Les Devins. 16 pointes sèches de Marcoussis." Texte de G. Bachelard, préface de M. Raynal. B. m. (Paris), n.r. (1946), (publ.) La Hune, f. [7], eng. plates 16 (dry-needle), [1], 31 29.5 cm, publisher's wraparound cardboard.
Published in an edition of 62 copies. (and VIII copies with additional graphics), the offered one bears No. 14.
Printed on Rives paper. The last graphic work in the oeuvre of Louis Marcoussis (Louis Markus) (1878-1941), a painter and graphic artist born in Warsaw, living permanently in France since 1903. He was educated in Krakow and Paris, where he became associated with the École de Paris community. Influenced by Picasso and his circle, he created in the Cubist style, then from the 1920s he moved closer to Surrealism. He was mainly involved in printmaking between 1931 and 1937, when, among other things, he illustrated literary works. After the Germans invaded France, he took refuge in Cusset near Vichy. Between June 1940 and his death in October 1941, 16 prints were created, first reflected while the artist was still alive. They depict 12 portraits of people from Markus' entourage (including his self-portrait and his daughters) in the role of fortune-tellers, and 4 allegories of predicting the future. The works were first exhibited in 1946 at La Hune gallery in Paris, at which time they were published in the form of a portfolio. The charts are preceded by an introduction by Maurice Raynal, an art critic, and a text by Gaston Bachelard, a French philosopher and professor at the Sorbonne.
Printed on loose boards, 20.0 x 19.5 cm dia, one signed on board. Ex-libris of ownership. Very good condition. Rare.
Lit.: A. Pietrzak, Ludwik Markus's last graphic work [in:] BN Information Bulletin, 3/170/2004, p. 10.