Rare WWII Prisoner of War Art Work 1945 Flossenburg Germany Concentration Camp
Up for your consideration is this very rare example of prisoner of war art. I believe this artwork was created by a prisoner in the Flossenburg Germany Concentration Camp during WWII.
It's a beautiful hand engraved landscape on aluminum sheet metal and features the Sun peeking out behind rolling hills with a church, houses, trees, barns and even a castle on a hill in the background. The sun's rays are amazing. I can easily imaging the prisoner who created this artwork dreaming of one day experiencing the freedom and beauty that is depicted in it.
It is all hand engraved except for the words FLOSSENBURG 1945 at the bottom, which is hand lettered in a black paint which is worn and faint but still very legible. It does not appear to be signed. It measures 17 centimeters wide by 13 centimeters high overall and the aluminum sheet measures 13 centimeters by 8.5 centimeters. I carefully dismantled the piece and the following is what I found. The aluminum sheet is a little less than 1 millimeter thick. The back of it has what appear to be horizontal and vertical construction lines and on one of the horizontal lines the letters FLOS are engraved. The board that the aluminum is mounted on is a type of plywood with 3 plys...And it measures about 5 millimeters thick. It is covered with a mauve colored cotton muslin and the exposed parts have faded to brown. One very interesting revelation is the chess or checker board that is on the back of the board. It appears to have been hand colored with a pencil but that it just my best guess. The back is a piece of heavy cardboard that is tacked onto the board.
The aluminum sheet is tacked onto the board with 4 small tacks. I can only speculate that an American soldier brought it back and may have possibly received it as a gift during the liberation of the concentration camp in the spring of 1945. I have a feeling this artist is known but the little bit of research that I have done has not turned anything up yet. Here is a little history on the Flossenburg concentration camp....
They provide important detail of this item and are part of the description of this item. Illinois location is always welcome for large or heavy items. Thanks for considering this item.
This item is in the category "Art\Other Art". The seller is "danteeqs" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Size: Small
- Region of Origin: Germany
- Handmade: Yes
- Production Technique: Hand Engraved
- Country/Region of Manufacture: Germany
- Item Height: 13 cm
- Item Width: 17 cm
- Type: Metal Engraving
- Subject: Landscape
- Year of Production: 1945
- Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original