Picture "Acrobats" (1949) (Unique piece)

Picture "Acrobats" (1949) (Unique piece)
Quick info
unique piece | signed | dated | titled | watercolour on paper | framed | size 59 x 48 cm
Detailed description
Picture "Acrobats" (1949) (Unique piece)
Erich Heckel and the artists of the "Brücke" rebelled against bourgeois lifestyles and traditional art concepts, striving to find a new expression of art. They found inspiration and ideas from non-European cultures as well as the world of theatre and circus. The actors from variety shows and theatre were also artists, living lives far removed from convention, in the dazzling realm of evening and night, in the colourful in-between of appearance and reality.
Thus, it is no surprise that the young "Brücke" artists were almost magically fascinated by this motif. Erich Heckel enthusiastically and frequently visited variety theatres in Dresden, Germany, such as the "Wintergarten", the "Flora-Varieté" or the "El Dorado", as well as the Schuhmann and Sarrasani circuses. The Brücke artists sketch the acrobats and dancers on site before processing these impressions in numerous paintings.
The depth of this connection to the fascinating theatre milieu extends beyond artistic inspiration, which is also evident in the present work from 1949, in which Heckel once again revives the experiences of the 1910s and 1920s.
Gouache, watercolour and pencil on paper, 1949, signed, dated and titled. Motif size/sheet size 34.8 x 24.8 cm. Size in frame 59 x 48 cm as shown.
Producer: ARTES Kunsthandelsgesellschaft mbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hannover, Deutschland E-Mail: info@kunsthaus-artes.de

About Erich Heckel
Erich Heckel (1883-1970) is one of the most important artists of German Expressionism. In 1905, together with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Fritz Bleyl, he founded the legendary artists' group "Die Brücke" in Dresden, which later Max Pechstein, Emil Nolde and Otto Mueller joined.
After World War I Heckel developed a new, cosmopolitan classicism that was accompanied by a more naturalistic approach and a brightening of the palette. In the 1920s, he produced numerous landscape works, including the unusually large charcoal drawing of the 'Westerholz Mill', which is still a popular touristic destination in Schleswig-Holstein.
Erich Heckel's works are represented in the world's leading museums and collections.
Painting with glazing watercolours, that are characterised by their transparency, which let deeper layers and painting surfaces shine through.
Often the paper surface is omitted. This contributes significantly to the effect of the work. The aquarelle or watercolour painting requires skilful use of colour, as it dries quickly and corrections are almost impossible.
Depiction of typical scenes from daily life in painting, with distinctions between rural, bourgeois, and courtly genres.
The genre reached its peak and immense popularity in Dutch paintings of the 17th century. In the 18th century, especially in France, the courtly and gallant painting became prominent, while in Germany, a more bourgeois character developed.
A one-of-a-kind or unique piece is a work of art that has been personally created by the artist. It exists only once due to the type of production (oil painting, watercolours, drawing, etc.).
In addition to the classic unique pieces, there exist the so-called "serial unique pieces". They present a series of works with the same colour, motif and technique, manually prepared by the same artist. The serial unique pieces are rooted in "serial art", a type of modern art, that aims to create an aesthetic effect through series, repetitions and variations of the same objects or themes or a system of constant and variable elements or principles.
In the history of arts, the starting point of this trend was the work "Les Meules" (1890/1891) by Claude Monet, in which for the first time a series was created that went beyond a mere group of works. The other artists, who addressed to the serial art, include Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian and above all Gerhard Richter.