Rolf Nesch valuation
German-born Norwegian printmaker who devised the metal print, building printing plates from wire, mesh and cut metal.
Rolf Nesch (1893–1975) was born in Esslingen, in Württemberg.
What a work by Rolf Nesch is worth
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Bio
Rolf Nesch (1893–1975) was born in Esslingen, in Württemberg. After a year with a decorative painter in Heidenheim he studied in Stuttgart, and from 1912 at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, until war service ended in British captivity from 1917 to 1919. He settled in Hamburg in 1929. Influenced by Expressionism, and by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Edvard Munch in particular, he worked at painting and printmaking side by side, and in 1932, working on a series of bridge subjects, he arrived at the technique he is best known for: the metal print, in which etched and engraved pieces of metal, mesh and wire are fixed to a zinc plate, so that the print carries both colour and a strong embossing. The political situation forced him to leave Germany in 1933, and he settled in Norway, where Rolf Stenersen was among his supporters, and became a Norwegian citizen in 1946. There he also made material pictures, assembled from metal, wood and coloured glass, and some sculpture, while printmaking and drawing remained at the centre of his work.
Metal prints are deeply embossed, so check that the relief in the paper is crisp and has not been flattened by framing or pressure, and note the title, date, signature and any edition number. Material pictures in metal and glass need careful packing and handling.
At a glance
- Born
- 7 January 1893, Oberesslingen
- Died
- 27 October 1975, Oslo
- Movement
- Expressionism
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