7074 - Geiger, Willi

Geiger, Willi The Metamorphoses of Venus 10 etchings with aquatint in brown on vellum board, plus 13 leaves: title page, index, and text by Richard Dehmel on handmade paper or vellum. In original cardboard binding. 1909. 59 x 47.5 cm. Each etching signed “Willi Geiger”; the colophon also signed “Willi Geiger” and “Richard Dehmel.” Edition of 150 numbered copies. “The Metamorphoses of Venus: Selected Passages from the Rhapsody by Richard Dehmel,” published by Bischoff und Höfle, Munich. Richard Dehmel had compiled 30 erotic poems and published them in 1907 under the title “The Metamorphoses of Venus.” At that time, he was already a notorious figure because of his risqué poetry; the poetry collection was censored following a court case. Christian Morgenstern wrote about Richard Dehmel in the “Zeitschrift für Literatur und Kunst”: “These Metamorphoses of Venus are—despite all the multifaceted ambiguity that several pieces have not yet lost for me—a monumental creation, a poetic achievement unique in its boldness and profundity. Anyone who sees here only burning passion and frenzied sensuality does not see enough. They fail to see the mighty creative hand that wrested order from chaos.” Willi Geiger illustrates ten of these controversial poems with erotic, finely nuanced aquatint works in magnificent, nuanced prints. - We ask that you request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is listed in the catalog only in exceptional cases. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.