Kurt Schwitters

Estimate

50,000 - 70,000 EUR

bidding is closed

Description

Kurt Schwitters
FÜR EDITH TSCHICHOLD [3](Pour Edith Tschichold [3])
signé avec les initiales KS et daté 46 (en bas à droite) ; dédicacé et daté Für Edith Tschichold von Kurt Schwitters 1946 (en bas, sur le carton de montage)
huile, gouache et collage sur papier contrecollé sur le carton de montage originel
image : 13,1 x 10,9 cm ; 5 1/8 x 4 3/8 in.
carton de montage : 16,9 x 12,5 cm ; 6 5/8 x 4 7/8 in.

Provenance

Jan et Edith Tschichold, Bâle (offert par l'artiste en 1946)
Galerie Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Francfort
Acquis auprès du précédent par le propriétaire actuel en 1970

Exhibited

Hanovre, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Kurt Schwitters/Hans Arp, 1956, no. 176
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Kurt Schwitters/Hans Arp, 1956, no. 148
Düsseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle ; Berlin, Akademie der Künste ; Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart ; Bâle, Kunsthalle Basel ; Hambourg, Kunstverein in Hamburg, Kurt Schwitters, 1971, no. 254
Bâle, Museum Jean Tinguely, Schwitters-Tinguely, 2004 (hors catalogue)

Literature

Karin Orchard & Isabel Schulz (ed.), Kurt Schwitters. Catalogue raisonné. Band 3 : 1937-1948, Hanovre & Bonn, 2006, no. 3367, reproduit p. 566

Condition

Executed on card, laid down on card by the artist. The original mount has been worked on with a semi-dry brush by the artist to pick out the texture of the card. Apart from some light time staining, this work is in excellent original 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."

Catalogue Note

signed with the initials 'KS' and dated '46' (lower right) ; dedicated and dated 'Für Edith Tschichold von Kurt Schwitters 1946' (lower centre, on the mount), oil, gouache and collage on paper laid down on the original card mount. Executed in 1946.

"His [Schwitters'] deep respect for life and all its fragments which he collected were, as George Hugnet states: "like fragments of life itself." Out of these fragments which most people would have discarded as rubbish, he created his marvellous sensitive and strong collages which he called "Merz," and which delight the eyes of all those whose keen sight reveals to them the beauty achieved here." Katherine S. Dreier

Jan Tschichold was a German innovative typographer with a unique sense of modernist design. He was the typographer for Schwitters Merz periodical, contributing to the last issue published in 1932. He and his wife Edith met up again with Schwitters after the war. Typeface played a crucial role in the art of the Dadaists with their innovative use of words and letters in art. In the present composition, whose title is the dedication of this work to Edith Tschichold, Schwitters pays homage to the Tschichold's with the letter M (likely for Merz).