Watercolor and India ink on watercolor cardboard
Germany, c. 1925-28
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976) – German painter, graphic artist, sculptor and member of the Expressionist artistic group ‘Die Brücke’
Signed lower right in ink ‘SRottluff’
Inscribed on the reverse in pencil ‘Blühende Kakteen’
Sheet dimensions: 69.7 x 49.6 cm
Frame: 100 x 80 cm
Very good condition
Literature: Gerhard Wietek, Schmidt-Rottluff in Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein (= Kunst in Schleswig-Holstein, Bd. 25), Neumünster, Karl Wachholtz Verlag, 1984, fig. 21
Exhibitions: 55. BAT-Ausstellung, Schmidt-Rottluff, Aquarelle aus den Jahren 1909-1969, Hamburg, BAT-Haus, 1974, cat.-no. 70, fig. p. 149; Karl Schmidt-Rottluff zum 100. Geburtstag, special exhibition at Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Gottorf in Schleswig 3rd June to 12th August 1984 (label on the frame)
Provenance: Elsa Delbanco, Hamburg/London; Private Collection, Schwitzerland; Private Collection, Germany
Still life with cactus blossoms
Object is regular taxed. 19% VAT is added to the purchase price for deliveries within the EU.
Estimate by Auctionata Expert: 100,000 Euro

Magnificent cactus blossoms sprout from the black cactuses. The color values of the blossoms and jagged leaves in the background develop in spontaneous and permeable brushwork. The picturesque effect dominates the composition in this case – the adjacent areas are partially uncontoured and it is color alone that is defining the shapes. Complementary contrasts are representative of the early phase of the ‘Brücke’ painter.

Italy was the only foreign land that did not remain without meaning for Schmidt-Rottluff. From the time after his first visit in 1923 originate overwhelming watercolors magic in color power, which might also have inspired the ‘Brücke’ artist for the subject of the blooming cactuses. In the oeuvre of Schmidt-Rottluff, watercolors take up an important part; among all the techniques that he used it is the only one that can be traced from 1909 until the end. The large-format watercolors are equally valuable next to his oil paintings and graphic work.

Condition:

The watercolor is in very good condition and fresh in colors. It is hardly visibly browned on the reverse. The frame has normal traces of use. The sheet is reversibly mounted in two points on the reverse under a mat and framed. The sheet encompassing depiction measures 69.7 x 49.6 cm. The dimensions of the frame are 100 x 80 cm.



Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884-1976)

The German painter, sculptor and graphic artist Karl Schmidt-Rottluff was born in Chemnitz in 1884. Since 1905 he studied at the Technical University in Dresden, where he met Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel and Fritz Bleyl. Regarded today as one of the most important representatives of Expressionism, he founded the artistic group ‘Die Brücke’ together with Bleyl, Heckel and Kirchner in 1905. His Expressionist works stand out with their intensive lucid colors. Schmidt-Rottluff’s works can be found among the collections of the Städel-Museum in Frankfurt and the Tate Gallery in London among others.

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