Winternebel. 1941.
Watercolor and opaque white.
Signed, dated and titled lower right. Inscribed by a hand other than that of the artist on backing cardboard. On Ingres laid paper by PMF Italia (with watermark), laminated on backing cardboard. 48,5 x 63,5 cm (19 x 25 in), the full sheet. Backing cardboard: 60 x 80 cm (23,6 x 31,4 in).

We are grateful to Hans Geissler, estate Erich Heckel, Hemmenhofen on Lake Constance, for his kind support in cataloging this lot.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Northern Germany.

This soft watercolor must be seen in context of Erich Heckel’s landscape paintings made as of the 1920s, which strongly differ from his expressionist work. Almost all of them are panorama-like landscapes and particularly in his mountain landscapes Heckel strives for a certain monumentality, even in watercolors, which becomes fully expressed in our work. The contrasting colors from the days of Expressionism have yielded to a more subdued palette. By means of a thoroughly selected composition, even his watercolors unfold an effect, just like his larger paintings, that do not fail to startle the observer. [KP].