A pair of colored lithographs of watercolors by Nicolas Markovitch, one depicting Morcote and the other Gandria, both located on Lake Lugano in Switzerland.
Nicolas Markovitch (1894-1964) was a Serbian-French artist, watercolorist, architect, and engraver. He worked and lived in France and used several pseudonyms such as Marc or A. Marc. He was known for his architectural paintings of urban buildings in Europe and the United States, as well as for his landscapes created in various European countries, including Switzerland. He also painted watercolor illustrations for several books from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. Markovitch was one of the best watercolorists of his time. His watercolors show a very high technical ability. His lithographs were published and distributed worldwide and are now highly sought after by collectors.
During the 1930s and 1940s, he worked with Stehli Frères, Publishers in Zurich, Switzerland, to produce lithographs of his paintings.
Stehli Frères published numerous different series of watercolors, printed in various formats: 9 x 12 cm, 12 x 16 cm, and also larger ones measuring 18 x 24 cm or more.
Markevitch always signed his original works with his real name. For prints of his landscapes and architectural series, he signed them under the pseudonym Marc or A. Marc (source: meibohmfinearts.com).
The two works offered here are lithographs published by Stehli Frères and framed under glass in a period frame. They date from the 1930-1940 period and are large format. They are strikingly similar to authentic watercolors (in fact, I have noticed that many of Markovitch's works offered at auction were presented as watercolors when they were lithographs, and even experts were mistaken!).
On the back, a Strehli Frères stamp identifies the artist as "A. Marc" and the depicted location. These are two small towns located on the shores of Lake Lugano in Switzerland: Morcote and Gandria.
The pseudonym "Marc" appears as a signature in the lower right of the view of Gandria, but not on the one of Morcote.
The lithograph edition indicates series 1022, nos. 14 and 15, Stehli Frères Editeurs, Zurich, Printed in Switzerland. The stamp is on the back of each lithograph inside the frame.
The frames, glass, and cardboard backs are also original and date from the same period, the 1930s-1940s. The edges of the frames are made of white and copper-colored stucco.
- Dimensions of each lithograph without the frame: 21.5 x 30.5 cm,
- Frame dimensions: height 36.7 cm, width 28.2 cm, thickness 2.9 cm, weight 971 g each.
These 2 pieces are in good overall condition: the colors are vibrant, the paper is not foxed, and the whole is beautifully retro.
Note: the frames are in their original condition, given their age, and the two corners of the upper edges of the Morcote lithograph frame have been restored, but this is hardly visible (see photo).
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