Lot 334
  • 334

WALTER DEXEL | Figuration senkrecht rot (Figuration Vertical Red)

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 GBP
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Description

  • Walter Dexel
  • Figuration senkrecht rot (Figuration Vertical Red)
  • signed W Dexel (lower right); signed W Dexel, dated 23/65 and titled on the reverse; dated 1965 and inscribed FZ 1923 XV Neufassung on the stretcher
  • oil on canvas
  • 72.5 by 54.7cm., 28 1/2 by 21 1/2 in.
  • Painted in 1965 after Rote Senkrecht (23 XV) from 1923.

Provenance

Grete Dexel (the artist's wife)
Private Collection
Sale: Lempertz, Cologne, 6th June 1989, lot 161
Sale: Villa Grisebach, Berlin, 24th November 1990, lot 283
Galerie Valentien, Stuttgart (purchased at the above sale)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exhibited

Braunschweig, Kunstverein, Walter Dexel, 1970, no. 24
Galerie Loehr, Frankfurt am Main, Walter Dexel, Bilder und Grafiken 1923-1970, 1970, n.n.
Paris, Deutsches Kulturzentrum Goethe Institut, Walter Dexel, 1972, no. 18
Ulm, Ulmer Museum & Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturegeschichte, Walter Dexel: Bilder, Aquarelle, Collagen, Leuchtreklame, Typografie, 1979, no. 92 

Literature

Ruth Wöbkemeier, Walter Vitt, Walter Dexel & Werner Hofmann, Walter Dexel Werkverzeichnis, Heidelberg, 1995, no. 447, illustrated p. 298

Condition

The canvas is not lined. Examination under UV light reveals two small spots of retouching to the light grey background in the lower right quadrant as well as some fluoresence to the background in the upper left quadrant and along the upper edge, possibly pertaining to further retouchings. There is a line of retouching as well as a small raised spot to the vertical dark brown element. There is a minor spot of paint loss towards the left part of the lower edge. This work is in good overall 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.
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Catalogue Note

A self-taught painter from Munich, Walter Dexel was one of the personalities of Constructivism. He was first introduced to the movement in the 1920s and it became the all-encompassing style for his painterly corpus. He studied art history in Munich from 1910 to 1914 during which time he attended drawing classes to refine his technique. Dexel was particularly influenced by the Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger, prompting him to paint simple compositions that were based on geometric elements and forms. He was, however, a man of numerous interests, ensuring the multi-faceted career he then forged, which included work as a typographer, advertising designer and social activist, dedicated to finding solutions to the problems of modern living. Informing his constructivist leanings was Dexel’s close and long-lasting friendship with Dutch De-Stijl artist Theo van Doesburg, which started in 1921. Borrowing ideas from Cubism, Suprematism and Futurism, Constructivism was an invention of the Russian avant-garde that found adherents across the continent. Dexel abolished the traditional artistic concern with composition and replaced it with ‘construction.’ The present work is a powerful example of how Constructivist art is marked by a commitment to total abstraction and a wholehearted acceptance of modernity. Dexel’s execution of mathematical lines and pure blocks of colour are methodical yet, almost paradoxically, experimental, conveying the idea that objective forms have universal meaning and should be valued over the subjective but recognising its status as a new and uncharted approach. Imbuing the notion of reduction as well, the present work encapsulates the form’s most basic elements, reflecting the aim of the Constructivists, which was to achieve an art of order which would lead to a world of unity and peace in the wake of the First World War.

From 1928 to 1935, Dexel lectured on graphic design at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Magdeburg but the National Socialists dismissed him from his post in 1935 and he gave up painting in the same year. The Second World War had a huge impact on Dexel’s self-worth and sense of purpose but the 1960s witnessed his artistic return. In the 1960s, Dexel orientated his artistic presence by re-visiting his themes from the 1920s, including the present work which is based on the work Rote Senkrechte of 1923. Dexel's vertical compositions from 1923 are undoubtedly some of the most important works of his œuvre, which explains why the artist turned to them when re-entering the artistic fray.