ERNST WILHELM NAY | Bleu Royal

Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne
Private Collection, Germany
Thence by descent to the present owner in 1963

Cologne, Galerie Der Spiegel, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, November - December 1959

Aurel Scheibler, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Werkverzeichnis der Ölgemälde, Band II, 1952-1968, Cologne, 1990, p. 152, no. 874, illustrated in colour

Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Bleu Royal, 1958 Considered one of the most prominent German artists of the post-war period, Ernst Wilhelm Nay is also undoubtedly one of the most talented colorists of his time. Bleu Royal is an emblematic work from his most famous series Scheibenbilders, Disc Paintings in English (1954-1962) and marks a turning point in the career of the artist who started to receive international recognition when representing Germany at the Venice Biennale of 1956 and taking part in three consecutive Documenta in 1955, 1959 and 1964 in Kassel. Strongly influenced by Hofer, Kirchner and Matisse, this polyphonic painting also reveals the importance of the music researches conducted by Schönberg and Bartok at the time. With its vaguely outlined vivid rounded shapes flourishing like a multitude of flowers melodiously arranged, the work seems to burst with musicality.