--------------------------------------------
The two Alois Kasimir (1852-1930)(posted below) drawings arrived from Germany yesterday and I just about fainted when I took a look at the way the seller had packaged them..... flat and in a flimsy cardboard container. Needless to say, the gorillas at the Post Office made sure the package was beat all to hell and back. My neighbors now know I can curse in four languages! Honestly, when you pay through the nose for a drawing and shipping on top of it, you expect to receive the artwork in good condition. I have never and would never ship an antique drawing flat. I have cropped out the damaged areas on the below posts. It is just too painful to look at all those tears and wrinkles caused by careless packing.
The two drawings themselves are salvageable, though lord knows how much the paper conservator will charge to get those damned wrinkles out. I think I will go out in the backyard and scream my head off.
Of course, the subject matter, nude ephebes, and the paper condition is what drives the value of these drawings. The drawings themselves are done in a soft "romantic" drawing style. The subject matter, nude boys, is quite typical of the late 19th century, usually a nude boy standing or sitting, with a flute in his hand. You see the motif repeated over and over. The day I bring home an academic nude adolescent female is the day you hear me singing. Drawings of nude adolescent females are so rare. If you look closely at both drawings, you can see the intricate lines used to follow the contours of the body. The boy holding the flute up to his mouth is somewhat feminized in those curves of his body. The other drawing of a nude boy has more of a masculine feel to the way the artist has treated the obviously older male body. Still, a nice addition to the collection.
--------------------------------------------
