Open Access

Sunhild Galter

• The present approach deals with an almost forgotten aspect of the oevre of Ludwig Hesshaimer, primarily known and appreciated for his drawings. Hesshaimer is nowadays known for his drawings and paintings from World War I. He also was very well known at his time as president of the Austrian Association of Philatelists. This approach starts with a brief biography, presenting the historical and family background of Hesshaimer, in order to position his work into the literary and historical context of the time. The second part of the present text refers to his autobiographical book Miniaturen aus der Monarchie printed in 1992 under the supervision of Hesshaimers daughter and granddaughter. Then it focuses on the analysis of his three stories about artists that are considered of general interest because they are almost unknown being published just once in 1928. Applied to the most interesting story Der nackte Fuß (The naked foot) follows an analysis of the stylistic phenomenon known as ekphrasis, which is a literary description of works of art.