Monotype (transfer drawing) on Japanese paper with irregular margins, ca. 31,6 x 23,2 cm (sheet). Unique copy. Signed "Ehrlich".
A self-portrait by Ehrlich in the same technique, dated 1927, is discussed by Erica Tietze-Conrad in an issue of the journal "Die graphischen Künste" from 1928. The present monotype was probably created around the same time. It is thematically related to the depictions Ehrlich made of workers and workers' families in the Carrara marble quarry.
The MoMA explains the principle of "transfer drawing" in a discussion of Gauguin's monotypes in his own words: “First you roll out printer’s ink on a sheet of paper of any sort; then lay a second sheet on top of it and draw whatever pleases you. The harder and thinner your pencil (as well as your paper), the finer will be the resulting line.” The pressure of the pencil caused the ink from the bottom sheet to transfer to the back of the top sheet. When the sheets were peeled apart, the transferred image became the final work of art.
