KASIMIR LUIGI (1881-1962) Dollnstein [in Bavaria, Germany]

KASIMIR LUIGI (1881-1962) Dollnstein [in Bavaria, Germany]
Original colored etching, 13 ¾ x 19 ¾ inches platemark, 14 ¾ x 20 ½ inches view within matted frame; signed by artist in pencil, 'Luigi Kasimir‘, in lower right below plate. Not dated, but believed to be one of his 1920s etchings. Original backing paper bearing gallery label at top center “GALERIE VOGEL / HEIDELBERG HAUPTSTRASSE 25” and inscribed in pencil on lower left, “Luigi Kasimer” and on lower right, “Original Ratierung [etching] @ Kasimir ‘Dollnstein’”. Provenance: Estate of Colonel Joseph Plummer, USA. As a young lieutenant, Plummer served in the occupation of Austria at the close of World War II and acquired this etching from the Heidelberg gallery noted above. Kasimir Luigi was born in 1881 at Pettau, Slovenia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. He inherited his talent from his grandfather, a painter and a poet and his father, an officer in the Habsburg army who later became a professional painter. Kasimir attended the Vienna Academy of Art where he studied under Wilhelm Unger and was one of the first artists to develop the technique of colored etching. He would first create a sketch or drawing, usually in pastel, then transfer the design on as many as 4-6 plates, printing one after the other and applying the color on the plate—all by hand. Mainly famous for his etchings, he also produced some oil painting, as well as pastels. One of his favourite genres was the landscape, depicting places from Europe--mostly Italy, Austria and Germany—and also traveled to the United States to do a series, ranging from New York City skyscrapers to natural wonders like Yosemite. Kasimir Luigi died in Vienna in 1962.