JOSEF ALBERS | Study for Homage to the Square: Yellow Climate

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
Galerie Burén, Stockholm
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Essen, Folkwang Museum, Josef Albers, February - March 1963, no. 29
Stockholm, Galerie Burén, Josef Albers, January - February 1964, no. 11

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals a very fine pattern of drying craquelure to the outer square, some of which have minute specks of associated unobtrusive tiny spots of paint flaking. Further very close inspection reveals a very fine scratch to the upper left hand corner of the second square in, which has been inpainted and fluoresces darkly when examined under ultra-violet light.
"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."

Begun in 1950, Josef Albers’ iconic Homage to the Square series is the result of a scrupulous painterly and geometric investigation. The progressively repeated expansion and diminution of the square shape formed the fundamental basis of these paintings and their precise organisation was controlled by a checkerboard structure of 10 by 10 units. Ranging in size from 16 by 16 inches to 48 by 48 inches, the paintings vary according to four adaptations on a strict concentric scheme. The first configuration comprises four squares, while the remaining three encompass three squares in various arrangements, as demonstrated by the present work. This economy is also reflected in the artist’s manipulation of colour, the physical characteristics of which are almost entirely denied due to his rigorous technique in which paint was smoothly smeared with a palette knife onto an immaculately white background. Herein, the homogeneity of the surface is of utmost importance for the artist, finished with the greatest attention to detail, in order to offer the viewer’s gaze the richest chromatic impression. It is arguable that Albers’ works are as much an homage to colour as they are to the square. In his certainty that colour does not exist by itself but only in conversation with other colours, the artist produced works that postulate the primacy of colour through visual experience. As explained by the artist himself: “we are able to hear a single tone. But we almost never (that is without special devices) see a single colour unconnected and unrelated to other colours. Colours present themselves in continuous flux, constantly related to changing neighbours and changing conditions” (Josef Albers, Interaction of Color, New Haven and London 2006, p. 5).

Especially relevant were Albers’ theories on how colour is always affected by context. Indeed, the artist believed that our perception of colour is always influenced by its direct environment, and often stipulated that controlling a colour’s surroundings is just as important as the quality of the colour itself. “Once one has had the experience of the interaction of colour, one finds it necessary to re-integrate one’s whole idea of colour and seeing in order to preserve the sense of unity... When you really understand that each colour is changed by a changed environment, you eventually find that you have learned about life as well as about colour” (Josef Albers cited in: Exh. Cat., Washington D.C., Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Josef Albers: The American Years, 1965, p. 28).

In Study for Homage to the Square: Yellow Climate, numerous coatings of warm yellow hues cover Albers’ favoured masonite surface to produce an astonishingly simple yet theoretically complex visual experience of light and depth. Confirming the painter’s status as one of the most important contributors to the post-war artistic canon, the present work allows rational thought to be momentarily abandoned in favour of a truly sensuous experience of pure colour.



This work will be included in the Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings by Josef Albers currently being prepared by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, and is registered under JAAF 1961.1.18.