Sale: 561 / Contemporary Day Sale, Dec. 07. 2024 in Munich Lot 311


311
Willi Baumeister
Schwarze Bewegung, 1950.
Oil with synthetic resin and filler on fiberboard
Estimate:
€ 30,000 - 40,000

 
$ 32,700 - 43,600

+
Schwarze Bewegung. 1950.
Oil with synthetic resin and filler on fiberboard.
Signed, dated and inscribed "XI" lower left. With illegible inscriptions on the reverse. 54 x 65 cm (21.2 x 25.5 in).

• The clearly contoured paintings of the 1950s are considered Baumeister's most sought-after creations on the international auction market.
• From the series of "Harp" paintings.
• As an artist ostracized by the National Socialists, Baumeister pursued his path with unwavering consistency and is today considered one of the most important Modernist artists.
• Participated in the Venice Biennale in 1948 and 1952 and the São Paulo Biennale in 1951
.

PROVENANCE: Collection of Pietro Aristarco, Rome.
Galleria Lonzelli, Milan (gallery label on the reverse).
Galerie Gunzenhauser, Munich (gallery label on the reverse).
Private collection, Southern Germany (acquired from the above in 1977).
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia (inherited from the above).

EXHIBITION: Willi Baumeister, Galleria Lonzelli, Milan, January 1963, cat. no. 11 (fig.).
Baumeister 1889-1955, Galerie Beyeler, Basel, February to March 1978 (exhibition label on the reverse).

LITERATURE: Peter Beye/Felicitas Baumeister, Willi Baumeister. Catalog raisonné of paintings, vol. II, Ostfildern 2002, no. 1051 (fig.).
Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister, Stuttgart 1952, cat. no. 128 (fig. p. 59).
Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister. Leben und Werk, Cologne 1963, cat. no. 711 (fig.).

Called up: December 7, 2024 - ca. 15.59 h +/- 20 min.

In Baumeister's works from 1950, shapes and lines merge into a seemingly magical sign language. The viewer's imagination is immediately stimulated by the enigmatic shapes. Are they graphic signs, innovative machines or perhaps otherworldly instruments? The unconventional texture of synthetic resin and putty, which creates a dull surface structure similar to wall plaster, also raises more questions than it answers. Baumeister masterfully opens up a visual cosmos that captivates the viewer's eye. From the late 1930s onward, he preferred to use paints bound with natural and synthetic resins, which he mixed with linseed oil paints. An intensive and experimental exploration of texture and color took place from the late 1930s and early 1940s at the Wuppertal paint factory Dr. Kurt Huberts, where Baumeister found protection from the Nazi regime alongside his friend Oskar Schlemmer. Instead of being discouraged or even fleeing, Baumeister continued to develop his artistic vision in inner emigration against the spirit of the times. As early as 1946, the now 51-year-old was appointed to the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Stuttgart, after he was dishonorably dismissed from the Städelschule in Frankfurt in 1933. A year later, in 1947, his art theory "Das Unbekannte in der Kunst" ("The Unknown in Art"), which was written during the war, was published, making him one of the most important art theorists in Germany alongside Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee. It was only logical that he took part in the "First Darmstadt Dialogue" in 1950, which was so important for art history, where he made a plea for abstract art and free artistic expression. In the same year, and only five years before his death, he created the present work "Schwarze Bewegung" (Black Movement). It is part of Baumeister's late creative phase, in which, inspired by the spirit of optimism of the post-war period, he continued to developed his characteristic form of abstraction and once again found his way to new, multifaceted pictorial creations. The tension between black, white and red areas of color on an amorphous background precludes any centering. The forms seem to move and change before the inner eye, while at the same time the sounds of harps can be heard. It is not without reason that Willi Baumeister is one of the most important modern artists. “Schwarze Bewegung" is a particularly fine example of the development of an individual formal language with a high recognition value. [AW]




Buyer's premium, taxation and resale right compensation for Willi Baumeister "Schwarze Bewegung"
This lot can be purchased subject to differential or regular taxation, artist‘s resale right compensation is due.

Differential taxation:
Hammer price up to 800,000 €: herefrom 32 % premium.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 800,000 € is subject to a premium of 27 % and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 800,000 €.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 4,000,000 € is subject to a premium of 22 % and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 4,000,000 €.
The buyer's premium contains VAT, however, it is not shown.

Regular taxation:
Hammer price up to 800,000 €: herefrom 27 % premium.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 800,000 € is subject to a premium of 21% and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 800,000 €.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 4,000,000 € is subject to a premium of 15% and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 4,000,000 €.
The statutory VAT of currently 19 % is levied to the sum of hammer price and premium. As an exception, the reduced VAT of 7 % is added for printed books.

We kindly ask you to notify us before invoicing if you wish to be subject to regular taxation.

Calculation of artist‘s resale right compensation:
For works by living artists, or by artists who died less than 70 years ago, a artist‘s resale right compensation is levied in accordance with Section 26 UrhG:
4 % of hammer price from 400.00 euros up to 50,000 euros,
another 3 % of the hammer price from 50,000.01 to 200,000 euros,
another 1 % for the part of the sales proceeds from 200,000.01 to 350,000 euros,
another 0.5 % for the part of the sale proceeds from 350,000.01 to 500,000 euros and
another 0.25 % of the hammer price over 500,000 euros.
The maximum total of the resale right fee is EUR 12,500.

The artist‘s resale right compensation is VAT-exempt.