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Lyonel Feininger
Description
- Lyonel Feininger
- Horn Player in the Village
- signed Feininger (lower left) and dated Donnerstag d. 1. April. 1915 (lower right)
- watercolour and pen and ink on paper
- image size: 20.3 by 26.4cm.; 8 by 10 3/8 in.
- sheet size: 24.1 by 30.7cm.; 9 1/2 by 12 1/8 in.
Provenance
Davis & Langdale Company, New York
The Regis Collection, Minneapolis
Lafayette Parke Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1987
Exhibited
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
The setting for the present work is the small village of Taubach which is situated not far outside the city of Weimar in Germany. In 1913 Feininger had spent a number of months in Weimar, travelling in the region and intensively sketching views of the surrounding villages. A series of pencil sketches document the same buildings that form the background of this work, but whereas the sketches remain largely naturalistic, in Horn Player in the Village Feininger transforms the scene through his bold use of colour and inclusion of the distorted, sharply outlined figures that fill the foreground. These characters – particularly the horn player and the larger-than-life man who fills the left of the composition – appear again in a related oil painting of the same year, Trumpeter in the Village (fig. 1). In both works the lively characterisation of his figures add to the spirited energy of the composition making them wonderful examples of Feininger’s indomitable style.