In 1937, Max Beckmann, while living in exile in Amsterdam, painted the radiant landscape Blick auf Vorstädte am Meer bei Marseille (View of the Outskirts at the Sea near Marseille) in memory of happier days. Coming from Stephan Lackner’s (California) prestigious Beckmann collection and estimated at 1,400,000 – 1,800,000 EUR, the painting is the top lot of Villa Grisebach’s fall auctions.
Max Beckmann BLICK AUF VORSTÄDTE AM MEER BEI MARSEILLE. 1937 Oil on canvas.65,5 x 110,5 cm (25 5/8 x 43 1/2 in.) Signed upper left: Beckmann A 37. Göpel 477. – Lot 29, Auction 169 Villa Grisebach
Once again the emphasis of Villa Grisebach’s auctions is on Modern Art. Yet, the nineteenth century is also well represented by two paintings by Carl Gust av Carus whose work is currently featured in a retrospective at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, as well as with a series of important works by Munich painter Franz von Lenbach from a private collection in Southern Germany. Max Liebermann’s luminous early painting Schafherde (Flock of Sheep) (1888) and Max Slevogt’s atmospheric Landhaus in Godramstein mit Kindern (Country house in Godramstein with Children) (1910) introduce the sale’s section of expressionist painting of the early twentieth century including Paula Modersohn-Becker ’s representative Worpswede Landschaft mit Moortümpel (Landscape with Swamp) and a poignant Sitzender Mädchenakt nach rechts (Seated Girl Nude Turned Right). As in almost every sale at Villa Grisebach, artists such as Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Käthe Kollwitz are featured with important works.
Exciting discoveries can be made within the section of art from the 1920s. Among those works is the haunting portrait Mädchen mit Rosa Hut (Girl with Pink Hat) (1925) by Hans Grundig, a painter from Dresden and friend of Otto Dix, as well as the lascivious water color entitled Langweilige Puppen (Boring Dolls) (circa 1929) by Jeanne Mammen. Both works have been frequently exhibited. A few years later, in 1936, Karl Hofer, who was persecuted by the National Socialists, painted his multi-faceted Kartenspieler (Cardplayers). The painting comes from a private collection in Berlin.
An additional focus of the upcoming fall auctions is on the art of the 1960s, from Josef Alber’s Homage to the Square (1958-60) to a selection of museum quality works by the artists of the ZERO group including Heinz Mack (Para Marisol) and Günther Uecker (Diagonale Teilung / Spirale / Geteiltes Bild [Diagonal Division / Spiral / Split Image]). The 1970s and 1980s are featured prominently with Cy Twombly’s print series Roman Notes, Mario Merz’s large format canvas collage Ohne Titel (Untitled), Andy Warhol’s Tennessee Williams and Rebecca Horn’s Painting Machine. Contemporary works are also on offer by, among others, Imi Knoebel (Grace Kelly), Stephan Balkenhol (Mann mit Salamander [Man with Salamander]), Alex Katz (Yvonne Smiling), Francis Alÿs (Provided Promesses), and Eberhard Havekost (Braune Palme [Brown Palm Tree]).
The upcoming fall auctions will be held in Berlin, from 26 -28 November. After a preview tour of selected works with stops in Munich, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Hamburg, and Zurich, all works will be exhibited at Villa Grisebach in Berlin from 21 – 25 November (Sat thru Tues from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Wed 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) All dates as well as the four auction catalogues will be available online by early November at www.villa-grisebach.de/en/