Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Arnold Zuckermann, Berlin
Otto Gerson Gallery, New York
Leonard Hutton Gallery, New York
Sale: Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, 5th & 6th June 1980, lot 1164
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Dresden, Galerie Arnold, Künstler-Gemeinschaft Brücke, 1910, no. 73
Oldenburg, Vereinigung für junge Kunst, Dangaster Künstler im Lappan, 1922, n.n.
Berlin, Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Schmidt-Rottluff Aquarelle, 1922, no. 5
New York, Anderson Galleries, A Collection of Modern German Art, 1923, no. 232
New York, State University Art Gallery, German Expressionism: Selected Drawings, Prints and Watercolours, 1979, no. 23, illustrated in the catalogue

Gerhard Wietek, Schmidt-Rottluff, Oldenburger Jahre 1907-1912, Mainz, 1995, no. 59, illustrated in colour p. 317 titled as Weg im Herbst

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down and taped to the mount in all four corners. The lower and left edges of the sheet are deckled and there are two artist's pin holes to each of the four corners. The sheet is slightly time stained and there is a small repaired tear to the upper part of the right edge (approximately 2cm long), as well as a small repaired tear to the upper part of the left edge (approximately 1cm. long), neither of which are visible when framed. There are two further repaired tears to the right part of the upper edge (each approximately 3cm. long), not visually distracting. This work is in overall good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work is an important example of Schmidt-Rottluff’s early work. Not only does Kühler Morgen illustrate the artist’s excitement with the wild and untouched nature of the countryside surrounding the small coastal town of Dangast, where between 1907 until 1912 he spent his summers, its vivid colours and feverish brush strokes exemplify the energy and radical experimentation that defined the artist’s involvement with Die Brücke. Alongside Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erich Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff was one of the founders of the movement, pioneering a new form of art that promoted freedom of expression and rejected the traditions of academic painting that had been central to their artistic education in turn of the century Dresden.

In their experimentation with colour, the Brücke artists were influenced by prevailing currents of European modernism, particularly by the Post and Neo-Impressionists and the vivid compositions of the Fauves, which the Brücke artists are likely to have seen as early as 1906. In its bold and vivid use of colour Kühler Morgen captures something of the passion and energy felt by these young artists. In the present work the roadway is painted in deep reds and violets and the bushes, trees and the sky are made up of a striking conglomeration of blues, yellows and greens. As such, the work is indicative of the singular style that defines Schmidt-Rottluff’s œuvre of this period.

Barry Herbert observed of Schmidt-Rottluff's Brücke works: ‘His work reached an extreme pitch of emotional intensity in its semi-abstract handling of form and colour without ever quite losing contact with tangible reality. The brilliantly coloured, loosely applied paint communicates that feverish involvement with the subject that distinguished the young German artist’s vision from the more impersonal approach favoured by Matisse, and identified him as, above all, a direct successor to Van Gogh and Munch’ (Barry Herbert, German Expressionism, Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter, London, 1983, p. 118).