Date: 1926
Measurements: 2 sepia-toned images/recto-verso, each measuring 6 x 8.5 inches (on a sheet measuring 8.5 x 12 inches)
Born in Munich, Germany in July, 1871, Hohlwein started his professional career as an architect, but in 1895, left architecture and started focusing on graphic design in 1906. He began as a poster artist, building up a self-taught style which was primarily influenced by the collage technique of the British Beggarstaff Brothers. He was very prolific and quickly gained name and fame in the world of graphics and among important clients.
He had a signature style of applying colors, letting them dry at different times, and printing one on top of the other, producing modulations of shading. The subject seems to be reduced to coloured surfaces and points, a network of interlocking shapes in a vivid and elegant pallet of colours. Ludwig Hohlein plays with only a few elements, light and dark, foreground and background in his rather refined compositions.