Serge Poliakoff. Composition Abstraite - photo 1
Serge Poliakoff. Composition Abstraite - photo 2
Serge Poliakoff. Composition Abstraite - photo 3

Serge Poliakoff. Composition Abstraite

Lot 541
05.06.2025 10:30UTC +02:00
Classic
Sold
€ 41 910
AuctioneerVAN HAM Kunstauktionen GmbH
Event locationGermany, Köln
Buyer Premium32%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1436270
Lot 541 | Serge Poliakoff. Composition Abstraite
Estimate value
€ 40 000 – 60 000
POLIAKOFF, SERGE
1900 Moscow - 1969 Paris

Title: Composition Abstraite.
Date: 1953.
Technique: Gouache on laid paper.
Measurement: 65 x 50cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower left: SERGE POLIAKOFF 53 VIII.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.


Provenance:
- Campo, Brussels, auction, 25th April 1977, lot 297
- Galerie Guy Pieters, Knokke (acc. to consignor)
- Private collection North Rhine-Westphalia

Literature:
- Poliakoff, Alexis: Serge Poliakoff - Catalogue Raisonné, vol. I, 1922- 1954, Paris/Moudon 2004, cat. rais. no. 53-23, ill.

- Poliakoff's gouaches are always an equally important means of expression for him alongside his paintings
- Particularly captivating due to the extremely harmonious colour scheme
- Visually very concise composition due to the density of colours, lines and forms

When Serge Poliakoff painted this harmonious and dynamic gouache in August 1953, the turbulent life of the Russian migrant in Paris had calmed down.Since the previous year, the artist had been able to make a living from his fine art thanks to a permanent gallery relationship, whereas previously he had had to secure the income of his small family as a guitarist. Serge Poliakoff had long been highly esteemed in artistic circles, but at the beginning of the 1950s critics and collectors also began to take notice of him. In 1953, the year this work was created, the artist had his first ever major solo exhibition in Belgium. In the same year, he also had his first solo exhibition in the USA (Circle & Square Gallery, New York). Gouaches on paper, which Serge Poliakoff was able to paint easily in cramped living conditions without a studio from the 1940s onwards, remained an equally important means of expression for the artist alongside oil paintings in later times. The present sheet initially captivates the viewer with its harmony of colours: Warm earth and green tones are distributed across the rectangular surface in such a way that the brown tones appear more on the lower half of the sheet, the green colour values more on the upper half. There are also shades of blue in gradations up to grey and (a little) beige. Serge Poliakoff places the coloured elements in such a way as to create compositional lines: A vertical line runs slightly to the left of the centre and a horizontal line, roughly in the middle of the right-hand half of the picture. And then there are the two diagonal lines which, coming from the two right corners of the sheet, meet in the centre of the left edge of the sheet. Curves and angles, overpainting and underpainting: This sheet is so rich that it appears almost collaged. The dynamic rhythm of this gouache is reminiscent of works by Paul Klee, who shared Serge Poliakoff's dual talent as a painter and musician.
Address of auction VAN HAM Kunstauktionen GmbH
Hitzelerstr. 2
50968 Köln
Germany
Preview
Phone +49 221 92586215
Fax +49 221 92 58 62 4
Email
4FQ.4SU-3S1@Y3GR3F@
Buyer Premium 32%
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 10:00 – 17:00   
Tu 10:00 – 17:00   
We 10:00 – 17:00   
Th 10:00 – 17:00   
Fr 10:00 – 17:00   
Sa 10:00 – 13:00   
Su closed

More from Creator

Serge Poliakoff
Serge Poliakoff
€48 000
Serge Poliakoff. Composition abstraite
Serge Poliakoff. Composition abstraite
€180 000
Serge Poliakoff. Composition abstraite
Serge Poliakoff. Composition abstraite
€100 000
Serge Poliakoff. Composition grise
Serge Poliakoff. Composition grise
€200 000
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
€180 000
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
€40 000
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
€300 000
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
Serge Poliakoff (1900-1969)
€100 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.