Colour woodcut from two plates and gouache on Japanese laid paper, 29.5 x 29.5 cm (block), 30.5 x 30.5 cm (sheet).
According to the previous owner, this sheet came from the estate of Bertold Löffler (incidentally, "Bertold" is the correct spelling and not "Berthold" as stated in Amorosart), in whose style it is unmistakable. Löffler produced only very few original woodcuts that can be proven to have been made by him, such as the "Pierrot" (see https://en.amorosart.com/artwork-l%C3%B6ffler-pierrot_mit_syrinx_pierrot_with_syrinx-137481.html), of which only a single copy is known to be in a public collection and in a slightly different state.
Unfortunately, we were unable to locate a second copy of the "Faun", whose maker must have been a virtuoso in both cutting and printing techniques. The present woodcut is a subtle example of the chiaroscuro technique, where three colours, the natural white of the Japan paper, a light grey and a dark, velvety black combine to form a refined composition, with the circular border, which gives the whole both an architectural and ornamental quality, added with opaque white. In all probability, this is a unique print. It could either have been made by Löffler himself or, more likely, in Löffler's class by a very advanced student at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. As no editions were printed there in the course of the lessons, this could explain the rarity of the print.
