Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart

Basler Kunstverein, Switzerland (a gift from the artist in 1942; sold to benefit the renovation of the Kunsthalle Basel: Christie's, Amsterdam, 25 November 2003, lot 198)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannoverische Sezession, 1930
Stockholm, Parkrestauranten, Internationell Utställning av Post-Kubistik Konst, 1930
Rome, Bragaglia fuori commercio, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, 1934
Milan, Galleria del Milione, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, 1934
Eindhoven, Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart - Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, 1967, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Kunstverein Basel, Kunsthalle, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart - Camille Graeser - Frank Danskin, 1967, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Annely Juda Fine Art, The Non-Objective World 1914-1924, 1970, no. 51a
Basel, Galerie Liatowitsch, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, 1973
Ulm, Ulmer Museum, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, 1975
Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kunstgeschichte, Vordemberge-Gildewart, 1975
Munich, Haus der Kunst & Essen, Museum Folkwang, Die 30er Jahre. Schauplatz Deutschland, 1977, no. 173
Zurich, Kunsthaus, Deutschland 1930-1939. Verbot-Anpassung-Exil, 1977
Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunstgeschichte & Paris, Musée d'Art, Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Abstraction - Création 1931-1936, 1978, illustrated in the catalogue
Ludwigshaven am Rhein, Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart 1899-1960. Gemälde-Werkskizzen, 1985, no. 79, illustrated in the catalogue
Hanover, Sprengel Museum & Ludwigshaven am Rhein, Die Abstrakten Hannover. Internationale Avantgarde 1927-35, 1987-88, illustrated in the catalogue
Valencia, IVAM Centro Julio Gonzalez & Wiesbaden, Museum Wiesbaden, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, 1997, no. K56, illustrated in the catalogue
Leiden, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal; London, Tate Modern: Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World, 2009, no. 180, illustrated in the catalogue

Hans L.C. Jaffé, Vordemberge-Gildewart. Mensch und Werk, Cologne, 1971, illustrated
Jost Schäfer, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart. Studien zu einer beschreibender Werkanalyse, Frankfurt am Main, 1984, illustrated
Jong Holland, The Hague, May 1987, vol. III, n.p., no. 2,  illustrated
Dietrich Helms & Arta Valstar-Verhoff, Vordemberge-Gildewart: The complete works, Munich, 1990, p. 272, no. K56, illustrated

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and securely stretched onto what would certainly appear to be the original wooden stretcher. There are canvas-maker's stamps on the reverse of the canvas and a number of labels on the reverse of the stretcher-bars. Paint surface The paint surface has what I assume to be the artist's original dry, unvarnished appearance and would benefit from surface cleaning if required. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a thin diagonal line, approximately 1 cm in length, in the white background between the white diagonal strip and the yellow section. There are also some minor horizontal lines near the right vertical turnover edge and other very small spots of inpainting. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and should benefit from surface cleaning.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted in 1930.

The exploration of non-figurative art was Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart’s principal preoccupation. Without object nor content, he strove to achieve his notion of 'absolute art'. The concept arose in a lecture given in 1925 at the Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover. In it form, colour, texture, contrast of elements, time and space were the only objects. He maintained that in order to reach art’s highest form of purity, painting must be abstract. In art’s rational and self-referential credo, he thus boldly rebelled against Kandinsky’s popular theory of the possibility of achieving a degree of spirituality in art.

A striking example of non-figurative tensions and contrasting elements, Composition no. 56, executed in 1930, can be considered as anticipating Op-Art. Through surface and composition, a haptic and optic involvement from the viewer is called upon by the artist. The almost monochromatic palette is contrasted by the muted yellow piercing through the surface of the canvas, and a trompe-l’œil effect is achieved by contrasting different hues of white. In a letter to Dietrich Helms on the 9^th December 1952, Vordemberge-Gildewart clearly articulates his artistic aims in his assertion that his paintings should be ‘audacious enough to make demands on the viewer and make him go along and play an active part in the journey (a visual journey)! This fact is one of the main differences between renaissance painting and an absolutist painting!’ (quoted in Dietrich Helms & Arta Valstar-Verhoff, op. cit., p. 33).

Studying in Hanover from 1919-1922, Vordemberge-Gildewart’s beginnings are unsurprisingly related to the field of architecture, sculpture, and interior design. Plasticity and modelling provide the basis for his future two and three-dimensional paintings. At the forefront of the intellectual avant-garde, Vordemberge-Gildewart’s name is linked to the most prominent conceptual artists active in Europe in the twentieth century. In 1924 he became a member of Der Sturm group in Berlin, and became acquainted with the greatest names of non-figurative art such as Kurt Schwitters, Jean Arp, and Theo Van Doesburg, eventually becoming involved in the De Stijl the following year, and founding his own Die Abstrakten Hannover group in 1927. He finally became involved in the Parisian avant-garde when given his first solo show in 1929 at the Galerie Povolozky and as a founder-member of the highly influential Abstraction-Création group in Paris in 1931, which brought him into contact with the Futurists.