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In 1887, the young Greiner moved from Leipzig to Munich, where the publisher of the famous periodical “Gartenlaube”, Geheimrat Kröner, supported his studies with Alexander Liezen- Mayer at the academy. In particular, Greiner’s drawings and graphic works in a variety of techniques soon revealed his great talent and brought him recognition as well as his first commissions. Nonetheless, his tireless sketching was dominated almost exclusively by the human subject.
On the one hand, Greiner heroicised naked “primal men” or dream figures in a whimsical fantasy world. On the other, he made masterful reflections of the people in his milieu, creating intense, timeless portraits without straining for effect. This rare self-portrait from that period can only be compared to a missing drawing, which dates from 1891, shortly before his departure for Italy (Fig.1).
- Otto Greiner:
- Two Self-Portraits and Two Studies
of the Kammersänger Gerhäuser / Meyer, 1891 - Pen and ink over graphite, on paper,
- signed and dated: O. Greiner / 26. 3. 91
- 353 × 319 mm
- Kupferstich-Kabinett Dresden,
inv. no. C 1918-23, - (missing since 1945, see:
Vermisste Zeichnungen des Kupferstich-Kabinetts Dresden
Dresden 1987, cat. no. 465)