A rare collection of portraits from Berlin

(1858 Radeburg – 1929 Berlin) A collection of 13 sheets with portrait studies. A rare, unusual compilation of portraits of men and women from a highly valued sketchbook created by Zille himself, half of which has survived to this day. They reflect a keen observational skill, as developed by the equally talented master, the acclaimed draftsman Adolph von Menzel (1815–1905) before him. Stylistically and technically, these sheets were probably created around 1900, or perhaps even earlier, thanks to the partially well-executed, detailed, realistic depiction and the use of pencil. Mostly, he depicts head profiles to capture the characteristic, individual features of his contemporaries, as well as their “types” from young to old in Berlin, especially in its “milieu” in Charlottenburg. One sheet is explicitly titled “Neighbors” by Zille. In the background of these drawings lies the instruction he received from the artist, illustrator, and caricaturist Theodor Hosemann (1807–1875), a humorist and keen observer of old Berlin bourgeois and philistine life. Hosemann advised his pupil Zille “to go out into the street, into the open, to observe for oneself, it’s better than imitating...). Pencil/paper, in an album with brown cardboard sliding mat pages. Each signed; 8–13.5 x 9 cm – 17 cm (mat opening). Album described; Provenance: Bassenge Auction, Berlin, 26.11.2011, Lot 8348.