3782 - GERTSCH, FRANZ (Mörigen 1930 – 2022 Riggisberg): "Natascha III"

GERTSCH, FRANZ (Mörigen 1930 – 2022 Riggisberg): "Natascha III" Color woodcut signed by hand lower right, numbered 5/6, inscribed “IX” 105 x 90.5 cm (image size), framed Franz Gertsch was one of the most influential Swiss artists of postwar modernism. Born in Mörigen, he trained as an artist under Max von Mühlenen at the Bern School of Applied Arts. Beginning in 1969, he developed his photorealistic and remarkably detailed style, which he used primarily to paint enormous canvases. His larger-than-life paintings were usually based on his own photographs of nature, friends, his wife Silvia, or the famous rock musician Patti Smith. Since his participation in documenta 5 under Harald Szeemann, Gertsch has been regarded as an internationally renowned artist. In 1986, he moved away from painting and turned to woodcut printing. During this creative phase, he produced a small number of large-format portrait prints in limited editions, all of which are now regarded as key works in his oeuvre. This work is also part of one of these select series, which Gertsch printed using a technically highly complex process and multiple woodblocks to achieve the characteristic, almost shimmering color effect. Natascha Gertsch, a neighbor and family friend who—despite sharing the artist’s surname—was not related to him, served as the model for this woodcut. Auction date: November 6, 2026, 6:45 p.m.