Luigi Kasimir

(1881- 1962)
***The Master European Printmaker***
These pages are to be used as a source of information, education, research and enjoyment for any party interested in Luigi Kasimir's body of work. When I was beginning to enter into the fine art business I had a particular fondness towards early 20th century prints and scoured many estate sales / auction houses trying to find works that caught my eye. I was previewing an auction the day prior to it taking place and while flipping through a box of old framed works (mostly trash) a picture caught my eye that depicted a beautiful view of the Danube River with a castle sitting on a cliff overlooking the river with a boat tied to a tree on the shore. It was aesthetically gorgeous and as I examined the work closer seeing all the intricate etched lines and fine use of color I could tell the work must have created by a talented artist. Ever since this first exposure my love and affinity for Kasimir's works has only grown ever deeper. To date; I have had the wonderful opportunity to own many of his etchings and even a handful of rare original drawings.

First Things First... The Signature

I cant begin to express the annoyance that the collecting community and those who enjoy the works of Luigi Kasimir face when trying to locate and purchase his etchings. This problem exists because after Luigi's death in 1962 his son Robert and wife Tanna continued use of the original plates to print etchings selling them to the public even signing them "Luigi Kasimir". Normally artists destroy the original plates so that in the future no one can print more works securing / protecting their already printed body of work but for some unknown reason this never happen.

This adds a more difficult task for acquisition because one must be able to determine whether the Kasimir etching in consideration has the original signature (ie. also printed by Luigi) or was signed by his son or wife after his death known as an "Estate Etching". The original signed works carry a considerable higher value and collectibility to that of his estate works and deservingly! While his son and wife were very talented artists in their own right, carrying an unbelievably similar style to that of Luigi, the impact made on early 20th century printmaking was not as significant. People also sell original Tanna and Robert prints as Luigi's due to the similar style.

I have seen hundreds of Luigi Kasimir etchings being inaccurately sold from online platforms like eBay, ebth and etsy; but also from higher standing auction websites like Live Auctioneers, 1st Dibs and even formal galleries! To help you and all other interested parties I have put together an example of all possible signatures you may run across on a work by any one from the Kasimir family which include 5 different signatures you must learn to recognize!

1. The original Luigi Kasimir signature has a tight and concise execution with the "L" having a fine accentuated loop that curls, this usually reached into the etching.

2. The estate signatures most significant difference is the slight "squiggle" before the name starts which means "nachloss" or "from the estate", a German term. Not only is this curlycue present but the "L" is drastically different in that it is completely legible. The signature is also slightly sloppy compared to original.

3. Tanna's original signature usually starts with a beautiful artistic "T".

4. Tanna's estate signature also starts with the "squiggle" nachloss indicating "from the estate of" and has strikingly different styled lettering, less artistic.

5. Finally Roberts signature only comes in this one style with the "R" usually being well pronounced

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You will quickly get acquainted with the variations of signatures once you begin really looking and comparing works to this easy reference page. Original Luigi signatures are now so strikingly different to my eye that I can tell from a mile away whether an etching is original, estate piece or from another family member.