In 1997, Karl Ruhrberg, former director of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, wrote about the work of German painter Emil Schumacher: “The most important feature of Emil Schumacher's work is intensity, an intensity that rejects anything incidental or anecdotal and becomes increasingly dense and powerful in color and form over the years.” (Karl Ruhrberg, in: Tayfun Belgin (ed.), Kunst des Informel, Cologne 1997, p. 154). Hardly any other quote so aptly describes the effect of the work “Kinabalu” from 1990, which, with its uncompromising use of color contrasts that are so typical of the artist, as well as a highly expressive, almost physical application of paint, testifies to Emil Schumacher’s unquestionable ability to create works that trigger an immediate emotional response while at the same time revealing unusually clear references to the real world in its title and presentation.

The upper part of the picture shows a powerful orange-red, which unfolds its full luminosity through the strong contrast to the deep black. Accents of white and green lend the two dominant colors, black and orange, an extraordinary depth. At the same time, a landscape takes shape in the mind's eye: hinted branches or trees rise from the darkness of the earth into the bright sky, a white cloud emerges, and the green traces of sparse vegetation. It is a colorful landscape brimming with references to nature and apocalyptic moments. which opens up further associations through its title. Such as to Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia, whose name is shrouded in various myths. Or to devastating volcanic eruptions, which evoke images of a red-glowing sky over scorched earth and whose theme is familiar from other works by Schumacher, such as “Pinatuba” from 1992. nd yet, despite its powerful colors, the work also carries a certain fragility, for there are various non-artistic materials embedded in the impasto paint. Strings or wires and the delicate leaves of a real tree break through the dominance of color, establishing a connection to the real world in Emil Schumacher's fundamentally abstract color world. In a broader sense, the work can also be attributed to the artist's Material Paintings, which have been a recurring element of his oeuvre in various forms since the 1950s.

With its narrative tone, “Kinabalu” naturally combines the supposed contradictions of expressiveness and fragile elements, abstraction, and implied references to reality, which remain permanently imprinted in the visual memory. For almost 30 years, this striking work has been part of an extensive private Schumacher collection. It has been exhibited many times and is now offered on the international auction market for the first time. It exemplifies the end of a long, internationally successful artistic career that made Schumacher one of the great innovators of post-war Modernism in Europe. [AR]