ORIGINAL WOODCUT BY FRITZ RICHTER (1904–1981) "Die Spieler" (The Card Players) Edition 19/25, pencil signed by the artist
A striking original woodcut by Fritz Richter, Austrian-German painter and graphic artist born in Salzburg and based in Berchtesgaden. Richter is recognized in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection (NYC) and his original woodblocks are preserved at the Berchtesgadener Bilderstüberl gallery, where his prints continue to be hand-pulled by the estate.
This composition depicts three men around a tilted card table — a rare secular group subject in Richter's oeuvre, which is more commonly known for Berchtesgaden landscapes and religious works. The angular Cubist-influenced furniture, sharply characterized faces, smokers, and the iconic heart-back chair place this print firmly in the German Expressionist / Neue Sachlichkeit idiom of the late Weimar period.
DETAILS - Artist: Fritz Richter (1904–1981), also known as Friedrich Richter - Title: Die Spieler (The Card Players / Die Kartenspieler) - Medium: Original woodcut on thin laid paper (Orig. Holzschnitt) - Edition: 19/25, pencil signed lower right "Fritz Richter Berchtesgaden" - Inscribed lower left: "Orig. Holzschnitt – Die Spieler 19/25" - Image size: 12.5 × 10 in (31.75 × 25.4 cm) - Mat / mount: 25 × 19 in (63.5 × 48.3 cm), archival hinge-mounted on acid-free board — NOT glued down, preserved for future framing - Date: circa 1925–1935, early Expressionist period
CONDITION Strong, clean impression with deep blacks and crisp detail. Paper is supple with original printing wrinkles characteristic of hand-pressed woodcut on thin laid paper. Mount board is clean. No tears, no foxing, no restoration. Unframed.
COLLECTOR NOTES Fritz Richter's woodcuts are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (gift of the artist, 1961). His works appear regularly at European auction houses including Kiefer, Wendl, and HanseArt. Group figural compositions in the German Expressionist mode like this one are scarcer than his Berchtesgaden landscape and religious series.
SHIPPING & HANDLING Ships from Seattle, WA within 1–2 business days. Packed flat between two rigid boards in a Stay-Flat mailer, marked "Do Not Bend." Tracking and insurance included with all shipments.
From a Pacific Northwest estate. Original hand-pulled woodcut, not a reproduction.
