Lot 140
  • 140

Josef Albers

Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 USD
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Description

  • Josef Albers
  • Homage to the Square
  • signed with the artist's monogram and dated 58
  • oil on masonite
  • 30 by 30 in. 76.2 by 76.2 cm.

Provenance

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
Elisabeth Franck Gallery, Belgium
Gimpel Fils Gallery, London
Galería Theo, Madrid
Galerie Denise René, Paris
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2000

Exhibited

New York, Sidney Janis Gallery, Paintings by Albers, October - November 1984, cat. no. 14
London, Gimpel Fils Gallery, Josef Albers: Homage to the Square, May - June 1985, cat. no. 6
Tokyo, Satani Gallery, Josef Albers: Homage to the Square, April 1986, cat. no. 9, illustrated in color
Madrid, Gallería Theo, Albers: Obras 1955-1973, November - December 1987, cat. no. 24
Paris, Galerie Denise René, Albers, May - July 1987, n.p., illustrated in color
Paris, Galerie Denise René, Homage to the Square, April - May 1997

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. The colors are bright and fresh. There is evidence of light wear and handling along the edges including two pinpoint losses in the upper left and right corners. The small circular surface irregularities in the central square are very minor and unobtrusive indentations to the board and original from the time of execution and the small white media accretion at the lower left edge is also likely from the time of execution. Under very close inspection and under raking light there is a faint brown drip accretion visible half way down the right side of the outer blue square, and an extremely faint pen mark visible in the center of the innermost green square. Also under close inspection, a minor ¾ inch abrasion is visible at the lower right edge. Under Ultraviolet light inspection there is no evidence of restoration. 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

“Every perception of color is an illusion…We do not see colors as they really are. In our perception they alter one another. For example; two different colors can look the same or two identical colors can look different: opaque shades can look transparent and definite shapes can become unrecognizable. This play of colors, this change in identity, is the object of my concern. It leads me to change my color tool, my palette, from one picture to the next.” Josef Albers

Josef Albers’ Homage to the Square is an elegant and stunning example of the artist’s most iconic and instantly recognizable series. While the differences between each work from this corpus are minimal and rely on subtle chromatic and nuanced geometric variation for aesthetic effect, Homage to the Square is as much an homage to color as it is to the square. For Albers, the square became the conduit through which color was presented to the viewer in its raw, unadulterated form. Albers, ever the theorist and one of the first professors at the historic Black Mountain College in Asheville, North Carolina, stressed that color is undoubtedly affected by its context. Famously stating that the manipulation of a color’s surroundings was just as important as the color itself, Albers used an analogy of heat to explain this groundbreaking idea: that after dipping your hand in hot water, tepid water would feel cold. Conversely, after experiencing cold water, that same tepid water would feel much hotter. This idea that we experience entirely different reactions to a scientific constant, based purely on a change of immediate context, was revelatory for Albers, and its application to chromatics provided one of the central pillars on which his oeuvre, and Homage to the Square rests.