Impressively detailed 10.5 x 14.75 etching of Albert Einstein in a personal and expressive three-quarter bust profile pose by Emil Orlik, signed in the lower border in pencil by the artist, "Emil Orlik." In fine condition, with a trivial short tear to the top edge.
Born in Prague to Jewish parents, Emil Orlik (1870–1932) was a painter, graphic artist, press illustrator, and craftsman. He studied in Munich, returned to Prague in 1894, and managed to establish himself there as an artist. A formative experience for his further work was the trip to Japan that he undertook in 1900. In 1904, Orlik moved to Vienna, where he joined the Vienna Secession. A year later, he accepted a call as a professor and head of the graphic arts class at the State School of Art and Design in Berlin and became a member of the Berlin Secession in 1906. His diverse oeuvre includes not only landscapes and genre paintings but also numerous portraits.
Einstein and Emil Orlik had a friendly relationship, regularly visiting with each other; Orlik is known to have visited Einstein at his summer house in Caputh. Konrad Wachsmann, the architect of the house in Caputh, recalls the painter and writes: 'Only Orlik and Dr. Grünberg regularly came to [Albert Einstein's apartment]. Einstein and his family got along very well with them. Emil Orlik was an amusing and witty man who brought a lot of laughter with his talent to capture a personality lightning-fast and put it to paper. By the way, Grosz learned that from him. He could also draw wonderfully quickly. Einstein held Orlik in high regard. He owned both of his '95 Heads,' two books that sold very well. In one of them, Einstein was even featured himself.'
