László Moholy-Nagy

Collection Gabrielson, Gothenberg
Private Collection, New York
Galerie Kunsthaus Dr Horstmann, Cologne
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1972

The panel is sound, and is made up of four sections of panel which are supported by two horizontal batons on the reverse. UV examination reveals a vertical line of retouching running down the panel approximately 14cm in from the left edge (corresponding to a previous repair), and some further small retouchings mainly covering the craquelure to the right side of the work. There is a slightly discoloured varnish and some scattered small dents in places, many of which are probably inherent to the panel. This work is in overall fairly good condition. Colours: fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, though overall warmer in the original.
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Moholy-Nagy’s Konstruktion was painted circa 1920-22 during the artist’s time in Berlin. The present composition is dominated by three simplified, rectangular forms—planes of black, white and beige suspended over a muted blue background—that delicately overlap one another, their points of intersection underscoring the artist’s profound understanding of colour theory. With such treatment the artist manages to hint at three-dimensionality and actual space, despite the physical limitations of the flat two-dimensional canvas. Such manipulation of colour and mechanical shapes is at the centre of Moholy-Nagy’s œuvre, especially his paintings, through which he attempted to merge and re-define concepts explored in the many other media with which he worked.

Renowned for his years as a Bauhaus professor, Moholy-Nagy’s artistic style was highly influenced by Constructivism, a movement and philosophy that emphasized the utility of art in both industry and society. Throughout his career, the artist practiced with numerous artistic modes including photography, topography, sculpture, painting, print-making, architecture and industrial design, with a particular interest in architecture and photography; ultimately, it was his chief artistic aim to create and define a new visual language with which to describe the world. Moholy-Nagy believed in the ideal of the artist-engineer, and subsequently he became fascinated with technology and its symbiotic relationship to art.

While Konstruktion was executed on the eve of the artist’s involvement with the Bauhaus school, the composition boldly foreshadows and superbly exemplifies the goals he would develop there, including the movement’s ‘constructive’ sensibility and his own personal desire to incorporate industrial design and architecture into fine art.  

‘Moholy-Nagy’s artistic legacy—the crystal clear structure of his paintings, the seemingly inexhaustible variety of his ideas, the pure forms of his photographs, films, and designs—lay hidden for some decades, awaiting discovery. It is due to the continuing interest in contemporary avant-garde trends that his lifework has gained increasing importance. Ideas of his that seemed fantastic in his time are now being realized’ (Krisztina Passuth, Moholy-Nagy, London, 1985, p. 74).