Conrad Felixmüller

Dr. Alexander Becker, Berlin

Private Collection, Southern Germany

Grisebach, Berlin, 9 Juni 2007, lot 275 (consigned by the above)

Private Collection, Northern Germany (acquired at the above sale)

Acquired by descent from the above by the present owner

Heinz Spielmann, Conrad Felixmüller, Monographie und Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Cologne 1996, no. 654

• A captivating view of the Havellandschaft, depicting the specific light and atmosphere of the Lieperbucht and Insel Lindwerder.
• A distinct, lighter palette, contrasting with his earlier, intense Expressionist works.
• A historical artifact, being the only painting of the Havel subject known to have survived the 1944 bombing of his Berlin apartment.

This engaging canvas, Havellandschaft (Lieperbucht, Insel Lindwerder), offers a serene and expansive view of the Havel River landscape near Berlin, captured in oil on canvas. The composition is horizontally weighted, dominated by the broad expanse of the water, which is filled with sailing boats, lending a lively aspect to the scene. The water leads the eye toward the banks of Lieperbucht and the small, distant outline of Insel Lindwerder. In contrast to the turbulent, graphic intensity of his early Expressionist works, Felixmüller employs a notably lighter palette, utilizing soft blues, pale greens, and delicate yellows to convey the specific, tranquil luminosity of the northern German environment.

Painted in 1935, the work dates from the artist's residence in Berlin and demonstrates his turn toward observed nature and the influence of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). This piece is unusually engaging due to its specificity and unique historical survival. While Felixmüller’s oeuvre is largely defined by his socio-critical portraits and woodcuts of the 1920s, this landscape represents a moment of personal withdrawal into the natural world. His own annotation on the stretcher reveals that this work was the only painting of this specific Havel subject matter to survive the bombing of the artist’s apartment and studio in 1944, a provenance that underscores its rarity.

The artist’s historical significance is confirmed by his inclusion in the collections of major global institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Recent institutional focus includes the 2022 exhibition Conrad Felixmüller: Works from the Wilke Collection at the Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, which featured an exploration of his career and his later landscapes and cityscapes.