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To be honest: I do not know if the Tirol woodblock signed V. Güttner is actually created by the Munich sculptor or possibly by his son, Vittorio Junior. Or either of them. Vittorio Sr, although today an obscured and forgotten artist, was only “rediscovered” after this print was offered in a recent auction. The existence of a son, Vittorio Jr. came to light only after initial research. There’s nothing to be found other than his portrait bust was created by a student of his father in the early 1900s. Although the title is illegible it could very well represent Mittersee (titled “Blumenwiese”) and a view of the alps behind
The auction lot with the print (I think it is surprisingly good) passed but I was able to find and acquire the wood engraving of “Tansende Hexe”, after a statue now “disappeared” by Vittorio Sr. so I can actually represent this artist with a work although not by his own hand. It was no doubt published in (and ripped/vandalised from) a 1898 volume of Richard Bong’s “Moderne Kunst Zeitschrift”.
The research lead to some very nice revelations of this Triest born artist and some very interesting facts and history meeting many nice painters, sculptors and to my surprise: his friendship with the rebellious and bohemian Fanny zu Reventlow.
Thanks to the archives of Heidelberg University who made available their digitally archived volumes of Jugend magazine these examples of works by Vittorio Güttner could be unearthed. They show his charming and “over the top” caricaturesque and cabaretesque statuettes of elegant Munich ladies “Brettldamen” and “Überweibchen”. That he was a very good and prize winning sculptor can also be seen in his “normal” work: animals sportsmen, indians (Winnetoe) etc.
Read more about this forgotten but fascinating artist, his interest in North American Indians and co-operation with Karl May, his relationship to rebellious and beautiful Fanny zu Reventlow (below) and the Triest “Concorso Cecelia Rittmeyer” in the accompanying Artists Biographies book.
gerbrandcaspers@icloud.com
