Description:

Gerhard Henning, Denmark.
Figure in Oriental costume, etching, 1914.

Visual size: H. 11 cm, W. 7 cm
Frame: H. 37 cm, W. 28 cm, gilded wooden frame
Signature / date: Signed “G. Henning” and dated 1914
Condition: The work remains in overall good and presentable condition, with age-related toning, scattered foxing and light patination to the paper, testifying authentically to its more than one-hundred-year provenance.

This refined etching by Gerhard Henning exemplifies the artist’s ability to merge a near-ornamental decorative language with a pronounced sense of rhythmic line and contour. The figure, adorned in garments of Oriental inspiration, emerges as an emblem of an era when European art looked toward the exotic and the decorative as a counterpoint to strict naturalism.

Bio:
Gerhard Henning (1880–1967) occupies a significant position within Scandinavian art of the early 20th century, particularly through his achievements as a sculptor and ceramic modeller. Closely associated with Bing & Grøndahl, he created some of the manufactory’s most iconic porcelain figures, distinguished by their subtle sensuality and their refined synthesis of classical ideals and modern form. Alongside his three-dimensional works, Henning also cultivated printmaking, where his graphic oeuvre frequently combined decorative discipline with a dream-like, almost poetic figural world.