The Arrival of the Plague Ship, 1919

The pencil drawing The Arrival of the Plague Ship shows a Gentleman wrinkling his nose, accompanied by a child, potentially a page, on a harbor promenade. The man is wearing a curly wig and an old fashioned, courtly suit, his gaze turning contemptuously away from an approaching ship. In this satirically tinged scene, there seems to be a reference to the courtly world, which has receded into an almost mystical distance and which is playing an ironic role in many of the author and artist Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando’s (1877-1954) drawings. The uncolored drawing thrives on soft strokes and a relaxed hand, while retaining the spontaneity of the idea. This immediacy is an essential feature of the artist, whose graphic works are often imbued with the old Austrian double-entendre humor of his literary works, such as * Gaulschreck im Rosennetz *.

MSch, 2025