194 - JOACHIM RINGELNATZ

JOACHIM RINGELNATZ (1883 Wurzen – 1934 Berlin) Fire in the Snow, 1927 Oil on canvas. 30 x 42.5 cm. Framed. Signed and dated (19)27 on the lower right. Titled, stamped, and labeled on the reverse. The paint layer has one area of flaking (approx. 1 x 0.5 cm). Previously restored: lined once and retouched several times. Provenance: Private collection, Hesse. Joachim Ringelnatz, whose real name was Hans Gustav Bötticher, was not only one of the most original poets and cabaret artists of the Weimar Republic but also a serious painter—an aspect of his work that was long underestimated. As a self-taught artist with no formal academic training, he began painting as early as 1900 but devoted himself to it intensively starting in the 1920s: primarily in watercolor, opaque paints, and oil on small- to medium-sized canvases. He exhibited successfully—including in 1923 at the renowned Flechtheim Gallery in Berlin alongside Otto Dix and George Grosz, and later at Nierendorf and other galleries. Many of his works were deemed “degenerate” by the Nazis and were confiscated; a large portion was lost during World War II. Nevertheless, over 200 paintings and drawings survived. A vast snowy landscape, with a small group gathered around a fire on the right-hand edge. The flames are tiny; the column of smoke rising above them takes up nearly the entire height of the painting. Next to it, an entire half of the painting remains empty. The subdued, almost monochromatic color scheme of ivory, cream, and pale gray, combined with the impasto brushwork in the foreground, creates a quiet, melancholic atmosphere. The few orange-red strokes are the only warm colors. Typical of Ringelnatz’s visual art is the combination of an everyday scene with a uniquely poetic, slightly whimsical mood.