2940 - Franz Gertsch

Franz Gertsch 1930 Mörigen – 2022 Riggisberg Forest Path “Ausblick” (Detail 1, 2006) Color woodcut on Kumohadamaschi Japanese paper Signed lower center: Franz Gertsch. Numbered 8 on the reverse Framed 72 × 89 cm (sheet size) Mason 41 B Copy No. 8 of an edition of 27 copies. In addition to the 27 copies of the edition, there are approximately five further proofs and color prints. Publisher: Edition Cestio, Basel/Zurich. The motif shows a detailed section from the right-hand block of the large-format woodcut *Waldweg “Ausblick”* (2005–2006; dimensions 276 × 380 cm, printed from two linden wood blocks measuring 268 × 183 cm each, Mason 41). Franz Gertsch is considered one of the most significant contemporary Swiss artists. He first gained recognition for his photorealistic paintings and later, in particular, for his large-format woodcuts, in which he combines precise observation of nature with an extraordinary sensitivity to light, texture, and surface. In his technically outstanding graphic work, he developed a visual language that oscillates between precise representation and extensive abstraction. This monochrome color woodcut depicts a detail from Gertsch’s large-format work “Waldweg ‘Ausblick’” (2005–2006). He used a photograph of a forest path in southern Tuscany, covered with shimmering specks of light, as his model. On the fine Kumohadamaschi Japanese paper, a green, subtly textured surface unfolds, from which emerges a profusion of clustered white dots that he carved into the wood using a hollow chisel. The motif defies a representational interpretation and instead offers a close-up view in which organic forms, reflections of light, and rhythmic structures coalesce into a distinct visual composition. The restrained color palette and the nuanced surface texture lend the sheet a quiet, almost meditative presence. What initially appears to be an abstract composition simultaneously retains the sensory immediacy of observing nature. It is precisely in this tension between recognizability and dissolution that Gertsch’s unique ability to translate the perception of nature into an autonomous visual language becomes evident—one in which even the smallest structures unfold their own visual power. With small foxing spots along the edges. Auction date: November 28, 2026 Approximate auction time: 1:05 p.m. CET