Hans Hofmann

Estate of the Artist
André Emmerich Gallery, New York
Private Collection
Carol Christensen Fine Art, Sausalito
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Washington, D.C., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, Hofmann: A Retrospective Exhibition, February - April 1977, p. 53, illustrated
Ithaca, Cornell University, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art; Tokyo, The Seibu Museum of Art; New York, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Abstract Expressionism: The Formative Years, March - December 1978, illustrated in color
New York, André Emmerich Gallery, Hans Hofmann, The Post-War Years: 1945-1949, January - February 1989
New York, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Hans Hofmann. Retrospective Exhibition, June - September 1990, cat. no. 66, p. 83, illustrated in color

Sam Hunter, Hans Hofmann, New York, 1963, no. 15, illustrated in color
Cynthia Goodman, Hans Hofmann, New York, 1986, no. 42, p. 53, illustrated
James Yohe, ed., Hans Hofmann, New York, 2002, pp. 111 & 276, illustrated in color

This work is in very good overall condition. There is evidence of scattered fine drying cracks throughout the composition, located primarily in the thicker areas of the impasto. These drying cracks appear stable and are presumably due to the drying of the gesso under the oil paint. The colors are more vibrant than they appear in the catalogue illustration, however the surface has evidence of scattered dust accretions and could benefit from cleaning. Under ultra-violet light inspection there is no evidence of inpainting. The canvas is stamped by the Estate of Hans Hofmann, and numbered 121 on the reverse. Framed.
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.
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Hans Hofmann's Bacchanale from 1946 is a powerful example of Abstract Expressionism in its earliest stages.  Employing a symphony of color, movement and form, it was in this year that the term 'abstract expressionism' was first applied to American art by the art critic Robert Coates.  The soft organic forms, energetic brushwork and non-representational subject matter are rendered in a multitude of extreme hues, ranging from deep red to vibrant yellow, blue and green.  There is an overall fluidity to the composition despite the frenzied and often sharp handling technique.  Hofmann's title Bacchanale, translates perfectly in this piece – a bacchanale being defined as a dramatic musical composition, often depicting a drunken revel, or bacchanal, referencing the wild, mystical festivals of the Greek god Bacchus.  Not only in a formal context can we see Hofmann's bacchanale being played out through his various lines and segments of color and uncontrollable, escalating sense of motion and tension, but coincidentally, the 'bacchanale' represents an awareness of alternative artistic endeavors of the age.

Both Salvador Dali, the pioneer of Surrealism, and the composer John Cage engaged in artistic Bacchanales through various mediums.  In 1939, Dali designed the set and wrote the libretto for a ballet entitled Bacchanale, based on Wagner's Tannhaüser and the myth of Leda and the Swan.  Ironically, Surrealism was an important predecessor to Abstract Expressionism, particularly the technical aspect, with its emphasis on and shared links with spontaneous, subconscious or chance creation.  John Cage won much recognition for writing a celebrated Bacchanale in 1940 for prepared piano.  He was a widely known figure among young artists of the generation as he was at Black Mountain College, one of the most fabled experimental institutions in art education and practice and critical in launching a remarkable number of the artists who spearheaded avant-garde art in 1960s America.  Collaborating on projects with Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg, Cage developed the "Happenings" – theatrical events that abandoned traditional concepts of the stage and script and instead were left entirely to chance.  Much like Surrealist concepts and the evolving genre of Abstract Expressionism, Hofmann recognized these influences and adopted them, exploiting endlessly the possibilities of chance, spontaneity and the exploration of the unknown in his painting.  Bursting with free form and gestural brushwork, these works unleash a freedom and untapped creative spirit, heroically exemplified by the intense inner energy present in Hofmann's work.

Exhibited in Hofmann's major 1977 retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the present work was to later appear in numerous important exhibitions including the 1990 Hans Hofmann show at the Whitney Museum of American Art.  Bacchanale is truly a superb paradigm of Hofmann's quest towards abstraction, and it is in his own words that "the ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."