82.75 Scene from Brothers Karamazov

1919

Lithograph, 16 1/2 x 12 1/4" (40.9 x 31 cm)

Signed, lm: R Janthyr; signed in stone, lm: RJ

Print from Die Schaffenden portfolio (Dostowejski-Mappe), II. Jg., 2 Mappe; Die Schaffenden stamp in lower left corner

Provenance: Hauswedell Auction, Hamburg, Nr. 820, May 1959

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82.75 Scene from Brothers Karamazov

1919

Lithograph, 16 1/2 x 12 1/4" (40.9 x 31 cm)

Signed, lm: R Janthyr; signed in stone, lm: RJ

Print from Die Schaffenden portfolio (Dostowejski-Mappe), II. Jg., 2 Mappe; Die Schaffenden stamp in lower left corner

Provenance: Hauswedell Auction, Hamburg, Nr. 820, May 1959

Scene from Brother Karamazov  1919

As the subject of this portfolio in Die Schaffenden series indicates, Dostoyevsky was a major inspiration for many German artists of the 1920s.  Here Janthur’s adherence to the style of the “second generation” of Expressionists is evident.  The composition is more graphically complex than the earlier Expressionist works, although the mood is even more powerfully claustrophobic and emotional.  In his ability to capture the spiritual power of Dostoyevsky’s text in visual form, Janthur epitomizes the synthetic aims that led so many Expressionists to become illustrators of modern literature and poetry.