Etching — Auction
Joan Miró, a celebrated Spanish artist, was a master in painting, sculpture, and ceramics, renowned for his unique style that blurred the lines between Surrealism, Fauvism, and Expressionism. Born in Barcelona to a family of a goldsmith and a watchmaker, Miró grew up immersed in the rich cultural heritage of the Barri Gòtic neighborhood. His artistic journey began with drawing classes at the age of seven and continued at the prestigious La Llotja art academy. Despite an initial venture into the business world, Miró's passion for art prevailed, leading him to abandon his clerical career after a nervous breakdown.
Miró's work is noted for its exploration of the subconscious, often depicting a childlike perspective. This approach was both a critique of traditional painting methods and a means of expressing Catalan pride. His art, challenging to categorize, often featured symbolic elements and nationalistic qualities. One of his notable early works, "The Farm," reflects a transition to a more individual style, blending elements of his Catalan roots with broader artistic influences. This piece, later purchased by Ernest Hemingway, encapsulated the essence of Spain in its imagery.
In Paris, Miró joined the Surrealist movement in 1924, where his work began to reflect the influence of automatism, emphasizing spontaneous, automatic, or subconscious creation. He experimented with various mediums, including painting-poetry and collage, and even ventured into set and costume design for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.
During World War II, Miró remained in Spain, and his work from this period, including the 22 Constellations series, reflected an interest in the night, music, and stars. His forms became increasingly abstracted, and he experimented with various techniques, often incorporating primary colors and evocative titles.
Miró's career spanned several decades, during which he continually evolved his style and explored new mediums. His contributions to art were recognized with numerous awards and retrospectives, including a major career retrospective at MoMA in 1941 and the Spanish Gold Medal for Fine Arts in 1980. Among his last major works was a tapestry for the World Trade Center in New York City, created in 1974.
For art collectors and enthusiasts, Joan Miró remains a figure of immense interest, not only for his distinct style and contributions to Surrealism but also for his ability to blend poetic imagery with political commentary. To stay updated on new product sales and auction events related to Joan Miró, sign up for our updates and immerse yourself in the world of this extraordinary artist.
Sonia Delaunay-Terk (Russian: Соня Делоне-Терк) was a Russian-French painter and designer of Jewish descent. She received the name Sonia Terk, by which she is known, in 1890 after being adopted by her uncle. She is also called Sonia Delaunay in literature. She is considered a representative of geometric abstraction. Her artistic role models include Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. From 1912, she developed the so-called Orphism with her husband Robert Delaunay.
Max Liebermann was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important collection of French Impressionist works.
Bernhard Kretzschmar was a German painter and graphic artist.
Kretzschmar studied at the Dresden Academy, in 1920 destroyed most of his work and began his career anew. In 1932 he co-founded the Dresden Secession, but later the Social Democrats banned him as a degenerate artist, and his paintings were removed from museums and galleries. Kretzschmar hated the Nazis and had to flee the country.
Like many artists of his generation, he dabbled in Expressionism, then switched to Verismo. He skillfully tried his hand at both Futurism and Impressionism. He painted on the themes of social poverty, as well as comically depicting the bourgeois way of life. In 1945, most of his works were destroyed in an air raid.
After World War II, social motifs receded into the background and Kretzschmar focused more on landscapes, more often in the suburban areas of Dresden. He also painted several self-portraits with somber, skeptical and ironic facial expressions during his lifetime, which provide a vivid characterization of the artist.
From 1946, Bernhard Kretzschmar worked as a professor at the University of Fine Arts in Dresden. In 1959 he received the National Prize of the GDR, and since 1969 he has been a corresponding member of the German Academy of Arts in East Berlin.
Marc Chagall (Russian: Марк Заха́рович Шага́л), born Moishe Shagal in 1887 near Vitebsk, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire), was a Belarusian and French artist celebrated for his pivotal role in the avant-garde movement and his unique integration of Eastern European Jewish culture into modern art. His contributions spanned several artistic formats including painting, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries, and fine art prints. Chagall's early modernist tendencies were enriched by his experiences across Saint Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin before World War I, leading to a distinctive style that melded Cubism, Symbolism, and Fauvism with his Jewish heritage.
Chagall's work is recognized for its emotional depth, often exploring themes of love, memory, and Jewish folklore through vibrant colors and dreamlike imagery. Notably, art critic Robert Hughes described him as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century," a sentiment echoed by art historian Michael J. Lewis who regarded Chagall as a significant figure within European modernism and as the world's preeminent Jewish artist of his time.
Among Chagall's famed contributions are his stained-glass windows for the cathedrals of Reims and Metz, the UN, and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. His monumental paintings include parts of the ceiling of the Paris Opéra and works that explore biblical themes, a hallmark of his oeuvre that underscores his enduring engagement with spiritual and religious motifs.
For art collectors and antiques experts, Chagall's works are notable not only for their artistic innovation but also for their rich cultural and historical significance. His art is housed in many prestigious museums worldwide, including the Marc Chagall National Museum in Nice, France, which focuses on his works inspired by religion and houses the series of paintings illustrating the biblical message.
For those interested in exploring Chagall's legacy and the vibrant intersection of culture, art, and history his work represents, signing up for updates on new product sales and auction events related to Marc Chagall can provide invaluable insights and opportunities. This is an invitation to engage more deeply with the world of art and culture that Chagall so uniquely encapsulated in his work.
Max Beckmann, a German painter, printmaker, sculptor, and writer, stood out in the early 20th century for his profound contributions to modern art. Beckmann's career spanned a tumultuous period in history, deeply influencing his thematic and stylistic choices. Unlike many of his contemporaries who embraced non-representational painting, Max Beckmann persisted with and evolved the tradition of figurative painting, drawing inspiration from a wide array of artists spanning from Cézanne and Van Gogh to medieval masters like Bosch and Bruegel.
Max Beckmann's experiences, particularly those related to the World Wars, significantly shaped his work. Following Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the subsequent condemnation of modern art as "degenerate," Beckmann fled Germany, spending a decade in self-imposed exile in Amsterdam before eventually relocating to the United States. His art from this period, especially his large triptychs, is considered some of his most potent, offering a stark reflection on humanity and the chaos of the times.
One of Max Beckmann's most personally allegorical works, "Beginning" (1949), encapsulates his knack for blending real and imagined elements from his life to comment on the broader human condition. This piece, alongside others, underscores Beckmann's enduring fascination with the existential struggles modern society faces, teetering between desire and societal roles.
Max Beckmann's legacy is cemented not just by his unique approach to modernism but also by his influence on subsequent generations of artists, particularly in the United States, where he spent his final years teaching and working. Despite a path that often diverged from the mainstream narratives of art history, Beckmann's work continues to resonate, housed in prestigious institutions like The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Max Beckmann's oeuvre offers a compelling exploration of 20th-century art and history. To stay informed about new discoveries, sales, and auction events related to Max Beckmann, consider signing up for updates. This subscription ensures access to the latest opportunities to engage with the work of one of modernism's most individual voices.
Käthe Kollwitz (born as Schmidt) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including The Weavers and The Peasant War, depict the effects of poverty, hunger and war on the working class. Despite the realism of her early works, her art is now more closely associated with Expressionism. Kollwitz was the first woman not only to be elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts but also to receive honorary professor status.
Käthe Kollwitz (born as Schmidt) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including The Weavers and The Peasant War, depict the effects of poverty, hunger and war on the working class. Despite the realism of her early works, her art is now more closely associated with Expressionism. Kollwitz was the first woman not only to be elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts but also to receive honorary professor status.
Lesser Ury was a German painter of the late nineteenth and first third of the twentieth centuries of Jewish origin. He is known as an impressionist painter, graphic artist and printmaker, a representative of the Düsseldorf school of painting.
Ury painted rural and urban landscapes, still lifes and monumental paintings on biblical themes. His works depicting the streets of Berlin and views of Brandenburg are particularly notable. Ury mastered both oil colors, creating floral paintings and urban scenes, and pastels, conveying an atmosphere of air and light in landscapes.
Marino Marini was an Italian sculptor and educator.
Emil Schumacher was a German painter. He was an important representative of abstract expressionism in post-war Germany.
In 2009 the Kunstquartier Hagen was inaugurated combining the Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum Hagen as well as the newly built Emil Schumacher Museum in one Museum complex.
Arnulf Rainer is an Austrian artist who painted in the genre of informal abstract art.
From his early works the artist was inspired by the ideas of Surrealism. He also created works of art where he applied paint over photographs and works of other artists.
In the 1950s, Rainer painted a series of blindfold paintings in the technique of Surrealist automatism. In 1978 he received the Austrian Grand National Prize. Rainer has exhibited in New York, London, Vienna, Paris, Berlin and Munich. His works are in the collections of the Albertina, the Pompidou Center, the Stedelijk Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.
Gotthard Graubner was a German abstract painter associated with the post-war Zero and Informel movements. Graubner's work is known for its focus on color and its relationship to space and perception.
Graubner studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under the painter Georg Meistermann. In the 1950s, he became associated with the Zero group, a movement of artists who sought to create a new art form that was free of traditional artistic conventions and focused on the use of unconventional materials.
In the 1960s, Graubner began creating his signature "color-space bodies," large canvases that were mounted away from the wall and filled with thick layers of pigment. These works were designed to be experienced as three-dimensional objects that were both paintings and sculptures, and they often created a sense of depth and spatial ambiguity.
Graubner's work was exhibited widely in Europe and the United States, and he was the recipient of numerous awards and honors throughout his career. He also taught at several art schools, including the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and the Städelschule in Frankfurt.
Graubner's innovative approach to painting and his exploration of the relationship between color, space, and perception continue to be an important influence on contemporary art.
Hans Hartung was a German-French painter, known for his gestural abstract style. He was also a decorated World War II veteran of the Legion d'honneur.
Hans Hartung was a German-French painter, known for his gestural abstract style. He was also a decorated World War II veteran of the Legion d'honneur.
Hans Hartung was a German-French painter, known for his gestural abstract style. He was also a decorated World War II veteran of the Legion d'honneur.
Emil Schumacher was a German painter. He was an important representative of abstract expressionism in post-war Germany.
In 2009 the Kunstquartier Hagen was inaugurated combining the Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum Hagen as well as the newly built Emil Schumacher Museum in one Museum complex.
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione or Il Grechetto was an Italian Baroque painter, draftsman and printmaker.
He is one of the prominent representatives of the Genoese school, working at various times in Genoa, Venice and Rome. Castiglione is believed to be the author of monotype, a type of graphic art and a technique of printmaking that is not engraving.
Castiglione was a versatile and prolific painter, while working in a wide variety of styles that he studied carefully. His paintings pay tribute to Rubens, Van Dyck and Bernardo Strozzi, who worked in Genoa, and his etchings pay tribute to Rembrandt. Castiglione painted expressive portraits, historical and religious works and landscapes, and excelled in rural scenes with animals.