Ängste (Fears) from Ein Handschuh (A Glove). Cyclus von zehn Compositionen radirt. Rad. Opus VI, Plate VII. First edition

Art Historical Context

Max Klinger’s *Ängste (Fears)* forms the seventh plate in his celebrated cycle *Ein Handschuh (A Glove)* of 1881. Created as a series of ten etchings, the cycle follows an imagined narrative centered on a lost glove that becomes an object of desire, anxiety, and fantasy. Klinger, working in the Symbolist vein, used the motif to explore the inner life of the modern individual, blending everyday scenes with unsettling psychological drama. The print employs etching, drypoint, and aquatint on chine collé, techniques that allowed Klinger to achieve delicate textures and deep tonal contrasts. These methods give the image its characteristically dreamlike atmosphere, with figures emerging from velvety shadows. The first-edition impression now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art preserves the crisp detail and subtle surface effects the artist prized. As part of a groundbreaking graphic cycle, *Ängste* helped elevate printmaking to the status of serious art in late-nineteenth-century Germany. Its haunting depiction of human figures confronting intangible fears continues to resonate with viewers interested in the origins of psychological imagery in modern art.

About the Artist

F. Felsing|Max Klinger (German|German) · |1857 – |1920

|German, Leipzig 1857–1920 Großjena