Sale: 368 / Modern Art, June 12. 2010 in Munich Lot 26

 
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - Maler Otto Mueller


26
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Maler Otto Mueller, 1912.
Chalk lithograph
Estimate:
€ 18,000 / $ 19,440
Sold:
€ 18,300 / $ 19,764

(incl. surcharge)

Chalk lithograph
Dube L 218 I (of II). Inscribed "Handdruck". Signed by Erna Kirchner. With estate stamp of the Kunstmuseum Basel on verso and with the hand-written registration number "L Be/Bi 1 I", as well as twice with the stamp "Unverkäuflich / E.L. Kirchner". On smooth paper. 42,3 x 31,7 cm (16,6 x 12,4 in)Sheet: 49,3 x 37,5 cm (19,4 x 14,7 in).
Very nice copy of the first printing state. Rare. With an old horizontal split in the right part of the image, which Kirchner padded with the same paper.

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Günther Gercken for his kind support in cataloging this lot.

PROVENANCE: Private collection southern Germany.

Otto Mueller is almost ‘played to the gallery‘ by Kirchner in this lithography. Seated in a fauteuil in front of a painting leaning onto the wall, which could very well be by both Kirchner or Mueller, he is depicted in a salon-like pose. The year 1912, which was of quite some significance for the “Brücke“ artists group, as they showed an extensive selection of their works in the gallery Gurlitt in Berlin, was also the last year of their solidarity. Kirchner, who claimed to have taught Mueller the art of lithography, sees Mueller entirely in the sense of the figures that populate his big city paintings. The dynamic stroke of the brush, which defines the composition with ist precise diction, is characteristic of this exceedingly vital period of Kirchner’s artistic creation. With the expressive emphasis of Mueller’s facial features Kirchner calls reminiscence of the exotic aspects of artistry, which Otto Mueller loved so much. This unusual lithography can very well be regarded significant, both in terms of its artistic values as well as a document of Kirchner’s most productive time. [KD].




26
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Maler Otto Mueller, 1912.
Chalk lithograph
Estimate:
€ 18,000 / $ 19,440
Sold:
€ 18,300 / $ 19,764

(incl. surcharge)