Die 12 Monate: Originalithographien de Zulow, Franz von - 1912

(Vienna: Wiener Werkstatte, 1912. Zulow, Franz von. Quarto. (13)ff. The Twelve Months of the Year. With 13 sheets, each 29.7 x 22 cm, compromising twelve color lithographs for the months of the year, and one sheet depicting the four seasons. The prints are from illustrations by Franz von Zulow. Each of the monthly illustrations is compartmentalized into four images - two on the top and two on the bottom, with a central picture surrounded by decorative geometric borders. Each sheet has the name of the month written in different stylized lettering. The cover sheet for the four seasons has four rectangular sections with geometric borders of circles, diamonds, flowers, and sheaf's of wheat and likewise distinctive lettering for the season titles. The illustrations have a primitive, childlike, almost magical feeling, as though in awe at the changing of the seasons and the passing of time. Each lithograph is the artist's imaginative response to the evocation of the months. For example, March has romantic imagery in the form of cupids, a dancing couple, and a gentleman courting a lady. Von Zulow uses strong black outlines around dominant greens and reds with touches of beige, white, orange, and yellow. Von Zulow (1883-1963) was a renowned and prolific Austrian painter, graphic artist, designer, and muralist. From 1908 he was an illustrator and designer for the Wiener Werkstatte, the Vienna Crafts Studio, known for their modern designs at the turn of the twentieth century, and for the superior quality of their craftsmanship. This series of lithographs was produced in 1912. Unbound, as issued. The sheets are enclosed in a black-cloth portfolio with four fold-over sections. Inside covers are decorated with beautiful abstract washes of swirling brown, green, and olive colors. It is rare to find a set that has all of the sheets and is in good condition. A fine example. (Schweiger, p. 77, pictured on p. 185).