Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Estate of the artist

Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Düsseldorf

Meshulam Riklis, New York

Leonard Hutton Gallery, New York

Acquired from the above in the 1970s

Will Grohmann, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Stuttgart, 1956, catalogued p. 297

Excellent condition. Original canvas. The paint layer is stable. Under ultra-violet light, there is no evidence of inpainting.
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Schmidt-Rottluff's fervent belief in the transformative power of art is the basis of his greatest compositions.  Painted in 1927, the present landscape depicts the Swiss hilltown of Ascona, situated on Lake Maggiore.  From 1927 to 1929, the artist travelled to Ascona every spring, and returned to the region again several times in the 1950s.  The present work was executed during the first of his visits to the region, and clearly expresses his fascination with the town's beauty and the breathtaking views it offered.  This work displays a dramatic perspective, with the foreground occupied by colorful, picturesque houses, with the church tower rising above the roofs.  The lake is depicted in short brushstrokes of bright tones, ranging from luminous turquoise to deep blue, with the mountains rising dramatically in the background.

 

One of the four founding members of the Brücke group, in his early career Schmidt-Rottluff was strongly influenced by French Fauve artists such as Matisse, Derain and Vlaminck.  Whilst in the present work the Fauve elements are still visible in the bright, contrasting coloring and thick, expressive brushstrokes, it exemplifies the artist's move away from post-Impressionist and Fauve influences, and his development of a unique visual vocabulary that characterized the mature period of his art.