Josef Albers

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1958

New York, Sidney Janis Gallery, Acting Color: Albers, January - February 1955
Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hayden Gallery, Josef Albers, March 1955

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of light wear and handling to the edges, resulting in some minor discoloration to the white margins and two minute areas of loss along the left and bottom edges. The entire board has been varnished by the artist and exhibits light surface soiling. Under close inspection, there are pinpoint spot and drip accretions visible throughout as well as minor and scattered unobtrusive abrasions. The layers of varnish fluoresce brightly under Ultraviolet light inspection, but 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.
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Stunning in clarity through its vividly contrasting geometric forms, Commemorative (Homage to the Square) is a superlative example of one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable artistic series of the Twentieth Century. Varying hues of orange, yellow, and auburn dominate the captivating gradations of the composition, evocative of a sun rising and setting in its extraordinarily concentrated chromatic spectrum. The interaction between the chosen colors was of immense importance to Albers, who was fascinated by the concept that the eye might perceive tones differently when placed together in unusual combinations, stating “[w]hen you really understand that each color is changed by a changed environment, you eventually find that you have learned about life as well as about color” (Getulio Alviani, ed., Josef Albers, Milan, 1988, p. 233). Considering the sophisticated yet strikingly defined areas of distinct chromatic variation, the present work provides a perfect window through which one can observe Albers’ intimate affinity with color.

With its set of four diminishing concentric squares, this composition is among the rarest of the Homage to the Square paintings. This having been said, the differences between each work from this corpus are minimal, relying upon chromatic and nuanced geometric variation for aesthetic effect. Albers did not want to distract the viewer with compositional change. His works are as much an homage to color as they are to the square–they were platters upon which colors could be served up in their raw unadulterated form to the viewer. To make the Homage to the Square paintings, Albers first coated panels of masonite with layers of glossy acrylic to create as smooth a surface as possible. He then applied paint, directly from the tube, with a palette knife. It was of paramount importance to Albers that the paint was unmixed, unadulterated, and didn’t blur with the blocks next to it–the artist insisted on preserving the purity and sanctity of a single hue so that it could have maximal impact. 

Albers was as much a theorist and teacher as he was a painter, notable for his significant contributions to our artistic understandings of color. Particularly pertinent to the present work were his theories on how color was affected by its context; Albers believed that our perceptions of colors were directly influenced by their immediate surroundings. Indeed, he postulated that the manipulation of a color’s surroundings were just as important as the color itself. He used the analogy of heat to explain his ideas: 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 rests.

Experiencing Albers’ works is experiencing vindication of a tireless adherence to his own rules: because we are not surprised by his composition and because he has eschewed shading and modeling in favor of pure color, his chromatic expertise is allowed to shine through. Commemorative: Homage to the Square is an apt demonstration of Albers' relationship with color. On one level, his observations on phenomena-like chromatic contrast seem almost scientific. However, his devotional repetition of these meditative works imbues his practices with a quasi-religious mood. In his own words, “when you really understand that each color is changed by a changed environment, you eventually find that you have learned about life as well as about color” (ibid, p. 233). This exceptional painting can be viewed as an ideal example of the way in which Albers changed not only our intellectual comprehension of color through his teachings and writings, but also how the artist unpacked the very tenets of painting to redefine abstraction in the likes of his antecedent Kazimir Malevich.