Hans Hofmann

Estate of the Artist
André Emmerich Gallery Inc., New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in February 1972

This work is in good condition overall. There is scattered wear along the extreme edges. There is evidence of a slight rippling to the canvas at the top left corner. There is scattered very fine craquelure primarily isolated to the yellow passages of paint. There are scattered spots of inpainting, along the left edge and at the bottom left and right corners of the canvas which fluoresce under ultraviolet light. There are additional scattered spots of areas of restoration in the black painted areas at the top left corner and the upper right quadrant which fluoresce. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Hans Hofmann's impressive L'Objet from 1950, is from a pivotal moment in his long and illustrious career, brilliantly matching a sumptuous concert of color with an astute cognizance for compositional economy. While the intense hues and direct manipulation of paint reference Fauvism, the geometric and architectural rigor of L'Objet also acknowledges an arc of influence encompassing the Orphism of Robert and Sonia Delaunay, the Cubism of Braque and Picasso and the seminal facets of Cézanne's landscapes. Indeed, L'Object skillfully conflates the Cubist and Fauvist affinities that predominated throughout Hofmann's career, while ultimately asserting an entirely unique artistic idiom. More generally, L'Objet encapsulates the dialectical oppositions that were the bedrock of the artist's most important work, which the artist himself articulated, "Only from the varied counterplay of push and pull and from its variation in intensities will plastic creation result," (Hans Hofmann, 1951, in Exh. Cat., New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hans Hofmann, 1990, p. 170).

Hofmann's art emerged from the most scrupulous and cerebral theoretical enquiry, rooted in his life-long and profound engagement with the philosophy of aesthetics. For over thirty years he had been an extraordinarily influential teacher, leading Clement Greenberg to surmise that, "Hans Hofmann is in all probability the most important art teacher of our time... [His] insights into modern art...have gone deeper than those of any other contemporary," (Clement Greenberg, 'Art", The Nation, April 21, 1945, p. 469). At the same time, the layered pigment and engrained brushwork of L'Objet evidence a keen inventiveness and powerful expressivity that surpass its deeply intellectual foundations. Finally, this work gives concrete form to Hofmann's analogy between his fully resolved mature painting and music, elegantly articulated by his declaration that, "Colors correspond in the form of intervals: in seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths, as music does," (Hans Hofmann, 1951, in Exh. Cat., New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hans Hofmann, 1990, p. 171).