A wonderful German realist animalier etching by wildlife artist Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865-1926). The etching dates to the early 20th century and was included in Kuhnert's  1925 magnum opus "Meine Tiere: die Radierungen Wilhelm Kuhnerts" (My Animals: The Etchings of Wilhelm Kuhnert). This is not a reproduction plate cut from the book, but the original etching Kuhnert produced to be reproduced in the book. For reference purposes I've include an image in the gallery of the book page. 

The plate measures 6 1/8 x 4 3/8 inches, sheet size is approx. 11 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches with deckel edges on two sides.  It is printed in black ink on a creamy white deluxe imitation japan paper. Aside from a bit of wrinkling in the margins and some surface grime to the reverse, it is in excellent condition. Rare item.


Wilhelm "Lion" Kuhnert (1865-1926) was a highly regarded German animalier painter and etcher. After beginning an apprenticeship at seventeen, Kuhnert moved to Berlin in 1883 where he studied with renowned animal painter Paul Meyerheim at the Berlin Academy of Arts. Kuhnert first traveled to Africa in 1891 where he went on safaris in the German and English colonial territories, sketching and making field notes which he later turned into oils and etchings in his Berlin studio.

Kuhnert traveled to Africa yearly to capture its wild animals in their natural habitat rather than studying them in European zoos. In between Kuhnert's extended visits to Africa, he returned to Germany where he continued his wildlife studies, traveling throughout Europe in pursuit of indigenous species including the red stag, elk, bison, wild boar, and moose.

It is estimated that Kuhnert's body of work totaled 5,500 paintings. Today, there are less than a thousand known works in existence. The remainder of his artwork was destroyed or lost in World War II. Kuhnert died while traveling in Switzerland in 1926, leaving a legacy of extraordinary wildlife artwork behind.