ROBERT ENGELS (1866-1926) PATRIA. Circa 1900. 36x18 inches, 92x46 cm. Ch. Reisser and M. Werthner. Condition B+: staining and tears in top and bottom margin; wrinkles and creases in image. Paper. This straightforward, yet elegant and sophisticated design advertises a Viennese brand of bicycle within the Czech speaking part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It combines both classical and modern techniques to sell the product. The background is stark and bereft of any Secession style ornamentation, but the bold red and black color blocks add a dynamism to the image as does the woman's hand thrusting through the top band of color into the poster's title. Yet in the manner of some of the great Art Nouveau designers, the woman's dress is half-adorned with a floral like motif reminiscent of a bicycle wheel. German-born, Engels was an illustrator and painter and decorative artist who worked in Vienna before settling in Munich where he taught at the Arts and Crafts School. Although unsigned, we know this to be a work by Engels as another copy of the poster kept in Belgium at the Musée de la Vie Walloné bears his monogram. Rare. DFP-III 748 (var).
