Oil with synthetic resin and filler on fiberboard. Signed, dated and inscribed "XI" lower left. With illegible inscriptions on the reverse. 54 x 65 cm. - The clearly contoured paintings of the 1950s are considered Baumeister's most sought-after creations on the international auction market. - From the series of "Harp" paintings. - As an artist ostracized by the National Socialists, Baumeister pursued his path with unwavering consistency and is today considered one of the most important Modernist artists. - Participated in the Venice Biennale in 1948 and 1952 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1951. LITERATURE: Peter Beye/Felicitas Baumeister, Willi Baumeister. Catalog raisonné of paintings, vol. II, Ostfildern 2002, no. 1051 (fig.). Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister, Stuttgart 1952, cat. no. 128 (fig. p. 59). Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister. Leben und Werk, Cologne 1963, cat. no. 711 (fig.).
Willi Baumeister, Galleria Lonzelli, Milan, January 1963, cat. no. 11 (fig.). Baumeister 1889-1955, Galerie Beyeler, Basel, February to March 1978 (exhibition label on the reverse)
Collection of Pietro Aristarco, Rome. Galleria Lonzelli, Milan (gallery label on the reverse). Galerie Gunzenhauser, Munich (gallery label on the reverse). Private collection, Southern Germany (acquired from the above in 1977). Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia (inherited from the above)
In Baumeister's works from 1950, shapes and lines merge into a seemingly magical sign language. The viewer's imagination is immediately stimulated by the enigmatic shapes. Are they graphic signs, innovative machines or perhaps otherworldly instruments? The unconventional texture of synthetic resin and putty, which creates a dull surface structure similar to wall plaster, also raises more questions than it answers. Baumeister masterfully opens up a visual cosmos that captivates the viewer's eye. From the late 1930s onward, he preferred to use paints bound with natural and synthetic resins, which he mixed with linseed oil paints. An intensive and experimental exploration of texture and color took place from the late 1930s and early 1940s at the Wuppertal paint factory Dr. Kurt Huberts, where Baumeister found protection from the Nazi regime alongside his friend Oskar Schlemmer. Instead of being discouraged or even fleeing, Baumeister continued to develop his artistic vision in inner emigration against the spirit of the times. As early as 1946, the now 51-year-old was appointed to the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Stuttgart, after he was dishonorably dismissed from the Städelschule in Frankfurt in 1933. A year later, in 1947, his art theory "Das Unbekannte in der Kunst" ("The Unknown in Art"), which was written during the war, was published, making him one of the most important art theorists in Germany alongside Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. It was only logical that he took part in the "First Darmstadt Dialogue" in 1950, which was so important for art history, where he made a plea for abstract art and free artistic expression. In the same year, and only five years before his death, he created the present work "Schwarze Bewegung" (Black Movement). It is part of Baumeister's late creative phase, in which, inspired by the spirit of optimism of the post-war period, he continued to developed his characteristic form of abstraction and once again found his way to new, multifaceted pictorial creations. The tension between black, white and red areas of color on an amorphous background precludes any centering. The forms seem to move and change before the inner eye, while at the same time the sounds of harps can be heard. It is not without reason that Willi Baumeister is one of the most important modern artists. “Schwarze Bewegung" is a particularly fine example of the development of an individual formal language with a high recognition value. [AW]
In good condition. Overall with traces of slight soiling. Some small abrasions and losses to the paint layer in the margins.The condition report was compiled in daylight with the help of an ultraviolet light and to the best of knowledge.
Lot Details
Oil with synthetic resin and filler on fiberboard. Signed, dated and inscribed "XI" lower left. With illegible inscriptions on the reverse. 54 x 65 cm. - The clearly contoured paintings of the 1950s are considered Baumeister's most sought-after creations on the international auction market. - From the series of "Harp" paintings. - As an artist ostracized by the National Socialists, Baumeister pursued his path with unwavering consistency and is today considered one of the most important Modernist artists. - Participated in the Venice Biennale in 1948 and 1952 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1951. LITERATURE: Peter Beye/Felicitas Baumeister, Willi Baumeister. Catalog raisonné of paintings, vol. II, Ostfildern 2002, no. 1051 (fig.). Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister, Stuttgart 1952, cat. no. 128 (fig. p. 59). Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister. Leben und Werk, Cologne 1963, cat. no. 711 (fig.).
Willi Baumeister, Galleria Lonzelli, Milan, January 1963, cat. no. 11 (fig.). Baumeister 1889-1955, Galerie Beyeler, Basel, February to March 1978 (exhibition label on the reverse)
Collection of Pietro Aristarco, Rome. Galleria Lonzelli, Milan (gallery label on the reverse). Galerie Gunzenhauser, Munich (gallery label on the reverse). Private collection, Southern Germany (acquired from the above in 1977). Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia (inherited from the above)
In Baumeister's works from 1950, shapes and lines merge into a seemingly magical sign language. The viewer's imagination is immediately stimulated by the enigmatic shapes. Are they graphic signs, innovative machines or perhaps otherworldly instruments? The unconventional texture of synthetic resin and putty, which creates a dull surface structure similar to wall plaster, also raises more questions than it answers. Baumeister masterfully opens up a visual cosmos that captivates the viewer's eye. From the late 1930s onward, he preferred to use paints bound with natural and synthetic resins, which he mixed with linseed oil paints. An intensive and experimental exploration of texture and color took place from the late 1930s and early 1940s at the Wuppertal paint factory Dr. Kurt Huberts, where Baumeister found protection from the Nazi regime alongside his friend Oskar Schlemmer. Instead of being discouraged or even fleeing, Baumeister continued to develop his artistic vision in inner emigration against the spirit of the times. As early as 1946, the now 51-year-old was appointed to the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Stuttgart, after he was dishonorably dismissed from the Städelschule in Frankfurt in 1933. A year later, in 1947, his art theory "Das Unbekannte in der Kunst" ("The Unknown in Art"), which was written during the war, was published, making him one of the most important art theorists in Germany alongside Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. It was only logical that he took part in the "First Darmstadt Dialogue" in 1950, which was so important for art history, where he made a plea for abstract art and free artistic expression. In the same year, and only five years before his death, he created the present work "Schwarze Bewegung" (Black Movement). It is part of Baumeister's late creative phase, in which, inspired by the spirit of optimism of the post-war period, he continued to developed his characteristic form of abstraction and once again found his way to new, multifaceted pictorial creations. The tension between black, white and red areas of color on an amorphous background precludes any centering. The forms seem to move and change before the inner eye, while at the same time the sounds of harps can be heard. It is not without reason that Willi Baumeister is one of the most important modern artists. “Schwarze Bewegung" is a particularly fine example of the development of an individual formal language with a high recognition value. [AW]
In good condition. Overall with traces of slight soiling. Some small abrasions and losses to the paint layer in the margins.The condition report was compiled in daylight with the help of an ultraviolet light and to the best of knowledge.
Willi Baumeister 
