Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower left. 88 x 73.5 cm.
With a label of Galerie Paul Cassirer on the reverse, numbered “3548” by hand and inscribed “Hans Purrmann / Weibl. Akt auf blauem Sessel”. [AR].

• Sensual yet sensitive: an early nude from his Berlin period.
• A masterful modulation of the female form against the luminous blue of the armchair, incorporating the background colors as subtle details within the otherwise light flesh tones.
• In the year of its creation, Paul Cassirer hosted Purrmann’s first major solo exhibition, and Curt Glaser dedicated his first extensive essay to him in “Kunst und Künstler.”
• Part of the same family collection for more than 50 years.
The work is registered in the Hans Purrmann Archive under number 641.
LITERATURE: Christian Lenz, Felix Billeter, Hans Purrmann. Die Gemälde I. 1895-1934. Catalogue raisonné, Munich 2004, CR no. 1918/18 (illustrated in color on p. 218). - - Curt Glaser, Hans Purrmann, in: Kunst und Künstler, XVI, Berlin 1918, pp. 453-464, here pp. 456ff (illustrated). Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett R. N. Ketterer, 37th Auction, Modern Art, Part 1, May 4, 1962, lot 387 (illustrated, plate 249, with a label on the reverse). Galerie Henze & Ketterer (eds.), Klassische Moderne. Zur Art 32 Basel, catalog 61, Wichtrach/Bern 2001, cat. no. 18 (illustrated in color on p. 21, with a label on the reverse).

Nyare Tysk konst (New German Art), Feb. 18-Mar. 12, 1922, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, no. 189, “Kvinnlig akt”. Deutsche Kunst Darmstadt, May 20-Oct. 1, 1922, Municipal Exhibition Hall, Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, no. 119

The artist’s studio. Paul Cassirer, Berlin (acquired from the above in 1918). Julius Kaufmann, Darmstadt (acquired from the above in 1922). Anneliese und Gottfried Dierdorf, Lörrach. In the family’s possession ever since

In good condition. Minor color loss and retouching in the margins, slightly more pronounced in the upper left corner. Minor canvas lesions in the two upper corners of the painting, as well as minimal wear along the lower edge. In the lower right area of the painting, on the right leg above the knee, there is a cut in the canvas measuring approx. 5 cm in length, it has been professionally backed and retouched, blending harmoniously into the composition. The condition report was compiled in daylight with the aid of a UV light source, and to the best of our knowledge and belief.