Auction house Ketterer Kunst in Munich announces sale of Modern and Post-War Art

MUNICH.- “It is a real sensation for the German art market. Works of such a remarkable nature are usually auctioned in London and New York”, said Robert Ketterer about Hermann Max Pechstein’s masterpiece with painting on both sides, which will be called up in the Munich auction on 10 December. In general, the range of offerings from Expressionism to Contemporary art is equally impressive.

Modern Art
This section is led by Hermann Max Pechstein’s work “Weib mit Inder auf Teppich” and “Früchte II” respectively, as it is painted on both sides. The estimate is at € 800.000-1.200.000. While the signed side with the still life references Cézanne and Matisse – indicating the artist’s mastery in terms of composition and a stringent color expression – the nude captivates the observer with a sensual eroticism; an effect that is amplified by the expressive color value and the coarse painting technique. The primal directness of indigenous peoples by which the Brücke-artists were so impressed, finds expression in the couple’s relaxed togetherness as well as in the choice of color: red-brown, yellow and green. A preliminary drawing of the Indian man is in the possession of the National Gallery in Berlin.

Another top lot is a work by Conrad Felixmüller, which also carries the charming feature of being painted on both sides. While the rear side “Das eingeschlafene Modell II” (1940) is brilliantly kept in a form of Neorealism with its subtle coloring and material, the front side “Herbst in Klotzsche” (1920) deals with the atrocities of a senseless war. The estimate is at € 250.000-350.000.

With an estimate of € 200.000-250.000 Fernand Leger’s watercolor “Deux femmes à la toilette” from 1920 is just slightly below this mark. The work is a prime example of the artist’s extraordinary mastery in composition and coloring.

Christian Rohlf’s oil and tempera work “Soest” from 1916 will enter the race with an estimate of € 140.000-180.000, just like several works by Gabriele Münter (among them “Stillleben mit Madonna”, and “Murnauer Landschaft (Staffelsee)”, each estimated at € 180.000-240.000). Still, it is particularly Karl Hofer’s striking “Mädchen mit Laute” from 1937 that will captivate the audience’s attention. The artist made several versions of this subject, whereas two earlier works from 1932 and 1933 were pertinent to a rather formal structure. Later he abandoned this in favor of a more introvert perspective, which is why this work shows an almost lyrical trait that supports its theme. The dreamy look of the girl that seems to be lost in thought adds yet another atmospheric degree to the composition, just like the soft contours and the overall painting concept. The estimate is at € 140.000-180.000.

Slightly below this mark is a woodcut by Max Beckmann with an estimate of € 100.000-150.000. His “Gruppenbildnis Edenbar” was made in 1923 and is definitely going to make as much furor as the portfolio “Jahrmarkt” which was made two years earlier. The latter has been estimated at € 30.000- 40.000. With its ten drypoint etchings it counts among the artist’s most important graphic works.

Besides Emil Nolde’s “Marschlandschaft” (estimate: € 100.000-120.000), the range of offerings is rounded off by Max Liebermann’s “Dorfhäuser mit Sonnenblumen” (estimate: € 90.000-120.000), the oil painting “Frühling auf der Höri mit Blick auf Steckborn” by Otto Dix and by Georg Kolbe’s bronze “Auferstehung” (estimate € 60.000-80.000 each), as well as by works by the following artists: Ernst Barlach, Lyonel Feininger, Erich Heckel, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Pablo Picasso, Hans Purrmann, Leo Putz and Paul Signac. Of course, an auction of this type cannot be complete without Otto Mueller, whose watercolor and chalk work “Zwei Mädchenakte/Zwei sitzende Akte” has been estimated at € 80.000-120.000. Another artist worthwhile mentioning is Willi Baumeister with his oil painting “Nocturno mit roten Segmenten” (estimate: € 70.000-90.000).

Post War/Contemporary Art
This section is led by several works carrying estimates between € 70.000 to 90.000. Both familiar and yet unusual is Eberhard Havekost’s oil painting “Benutzerober-fläche 5” from 2001 as well as the work “Figur Flora” by Horst Antes, which already alludes to the artist’s later figure “Kopffüßler (Head Footer)”, a figure exclusively made in cross-section.

The same estimates have also been tagged to two sculptures which emanate a lust for life in quite different manners. While Giacomo Manzù’s “Cardinale seduto” almost seems affable in its form and impression, the skinny, rhythmically bundled pipes of the plastic “Große Vierung” by Martin and Brigitte Matschinsky-Denninghoff seem to aspire an organic vitality.

Next to the two large bronzes by Jörg Immendorff “Ich im Pinselwald” and “Sieger”, which will both be called up with estimates of € 60.000-80.000 each, this section also proudly presents two oil paintings by the Munich artist Rupprecht Geiger. While “467/67” from 1967 has been estimated at € 40.000-60.000, the estimate for “419/65” is at € 25.000-35.000.

Other exciting works, among others, are by Markus Lüpertz (“Beethoven”, estimate: € 50.000- 60.000), Günther Uecker (“Modell für Grossobjekt”, estimate: € 30.000-40.000), Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Norbert Bisky, Bernhard Heisig, Markus Lüpertz, Anselm Kiefer, Sigmar Polke, Emil Schumacher, Antoni Tàpies, Fred Thieler, Tom Wesselmann and Fritz Winter.

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