Lot 136
  • 136

WOLS | Les Tâches Rouges

Estimate
200,000 - 250,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Wols
  • Les Tâches Rouges
  • signed
  • oil on canvas
  • 48.5 by 32.5 cm. 19 1/8 by 12 7/8 in.
  • Executed circa 1947.

Provenance

Gréty Wols, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1974

Exhibited

Brussels, Galerie Europe, Wols, April - May 1959, no. 47
London, Gimpel Fils, Wols: Oils and Gouaches, November - December 1960, n.p., no. 54 (text)
Bochum, Städtischen Kunstgalerie Bochum; Karlsruhe, Badischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Museum Wiesbaden; and Freiburg im Breisgau, Kunstverein; Wols: Gouachen, Gemälde, February - June 1961, n.p., no. 52, illustrated
Frankfurt, Frankfurter Kunstverein; and Wuppertal, Von-der-Heydt Museum, Wols: Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, November 1965 - January 1966, no. 22, illustrated
Berlin, Nationalgalerie, Wols: Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, September - November 1973, no. 35, illustrated
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Wols, 1913-1951: Peintures, Aquarelles, Dessins, December 1973 - February 1974, p. 134, no. 33 (text)

Condition

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the background is cooler and less saturated in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals two tiny spots of lifting; one to the black pigment in the centre of the upper red shape, which has a minute speck of associated loss, and one towards the upper right hand corner, which has two spot of associated loss and a minute loss to the left of the upper red shape. Further very close inspection reveals a tiny 2mm crack to the thick black impasto in the upper red shape and some very faint tension cracks to the extreme lower right overturn edge. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some uneven fluorescence to the extreme edges.
"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

A swirling cacophony of vibrant red nuclei, nestling in a melee of whirling whites and greys, Wols’s Les Tâches Rouges is utterly symptomatic of the artist’s iconic painterly palette. Each perforated in its centre and haloed with sombre, smoky contours, the vibrating quality of both red elements, created by the rapidly and repetitively applied brushstrokes that fashion the cloudy aureoles around them, give viewers the impression that they are floating entities in an off-white vacuous, ethereal ecosystem. Indeed, the artist’s expressive gestures instil life in these nebulous shapes and grant them an almost scientific yet endlessly engaging character. Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze, whose pseudonym consists of the first three letters of Wolfgang and the first letter of Schulze, was born in Berlin in 1913. Upon moving to Paris as an adolescent, Wols discovered the burgeoning Surrealist movement and manifested particular interest for the work of Yves Tanguy. When World War II broke out, Wols was profoundly impacted by the atrocities that surrounded him and had no other recourse than to channel his emotions through his artistic output. It is during these difficult times that the artist developed his signature style and helped establish the principles of Art Informel and Tachisme. According to Toby Kamps, “Wols’s ever-morphing images earned him a reputation as an innovative descendant of Surrealism and the prime progenitor of Art Informel, or ‘formless art’” (Toby Kamps, ‘Seeing Wols’, in: Exh. Cat., Bremen, Kunsthalle Bremen, Wols: Retrospective, 2013, p. 55).

Originally interested in photography, Wols produced his first oil paintings in 1946, only five years before his premature passing. As a result, the artist’s entire production of oil paintings is limited to two groups of approximately forty rare and unique pieces. Centralised forms quickly became a leitmotiv in the artist’s creative output, as demonstrated by works such as La Grenade Bleue and L'Œil de Dieu, both executed between 1948 and 1949. It is the symmetry and almost palpable synergy that characterise the nuclei at the heart of Les Tâches Rouges, and make this work the ultimate summation of his painterly practice.



The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by Dr. Ewald Rathke, Frankfurt.