(Wunsiedel 1881–1965 Vienna)
“Blauer Ara, nach links”, 1909, colour woodcut with spray paint technique on soft Japanese paper, signed twice JUNG/NICKEL, with the woodcut stamp ‘Mit kaiserlicher Subvention ausgeführt’, block size 30x 28.7 cm, sheet size 33.5 x 30.8 cm, from the series ‘Schönbrunner Tiertypen’, Spielvogel-Bodo OG. 24, small opaque white retouching to the right margin, slightly browned, framed, (RAC)

“With financial support from ‘His Apostolic Majesty, Emperor Francis Joseph I’, he designed and cut a ten-sheet series of ‘Schönbrunn Animal Types’, which he reproduced in block print on precious Japan paper. According to a story told by contemporary witnesses, the 18-year-old artist acquired a large roll of this expensive paper made from mulberry fibres from servants of the imperial family. It is said to have been a gift from the Japanese tennos to the Austrian monarchs. Apparently, the court had not found a worthy use for the paper, and Jungnickel was thus able to use it. Although the Schönbrunn series was originally planned as a portfolio, it was not published as such.” (Ilse Spielvogel-Bodo, Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel - Ein Leben für die Kunst, Klagenfurt 2000, p. 114)