Catherine Klein and Victorian Art Masterpieces

Many of you know the work of this remarkable German artist thanks to decoupage papers, but Catherina Klein was not only that, so today I would like to tell you her history.

Catharina Klein (b. 1861, Eylau, East Prussia - d. 1929, Berlin, German) 

also knowed as Chaterine Klein (her name was anglicized during World War II).

For study reasons she moved to Berlin wheres he attended a professional school. Later  she opened a studio on his own and taught painting to young women.

Catherine Klein collaborated with several publishers, including Meissner and Buch in Leipzig and Raphael Tuck in London.

Compared with other artists, she had the idea of putting his signature next to the subject in such a way that it was difficult to eliminate it at print, although this did not prevent some publishers to manipulate it at a later date.

Catherine Klein is considered an artist of the Victorian Period also if this term is imprecise. In fact, her early works were made in the last years of the reign of Queen Victoria, but his style it is so realistic and therefore can not refer to that artistic period.

Most of her work can be seen only on postcards, calendars and advertising: in fact, of the more than 2,000 images of life executed in watercolor and oil, only few original paintings are still successful existing, this is because the sheds that held linens and drawings were destroyed during the second world war. Beyond that, several buyers trimme her postcards to make wall paper or découpage, erasing the only reminder of this artist fantastically creative.

She was a single woman who earned a living in a man's way thanks to his talent, a remarkable feat for the time.

Catherine Klein died in Berlin in 1929. Unfortunately, in 1950, a survey on his burial ruled that, in the absence of close relatives, her remains were not of great importance to maintain their grave, and were destroyed. Today his works are sought after by collectors.