3744 - BAUKNECHT, PHILIPP (Barcelona 1884 – 1933 Davos): Lake Davos with a View of the Höhwald

BAUKNECHT, PHILIPP (Barcelona 1884 – 1933 Davos): Lake Davos with a View of the Höhwald Oil on canvas Signed lower right 80.5 x 96.5 cm, framed Provenance: Carlo von Wedekind Collection; private collection, Switzerland. Born the son of a German watchmaker, Philipp Bauknecht studied interior design at the School of Applied Arts in Stuttgart, where he was introduced to Art Nouveau and made his first attempts at painting. In 1910, he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and had to undergo treatment at the Davos Höhenklinik. There, he experienced an artistic revelation; the mountain landscape of Graubünden had a lasting influence on his work, both in terms of subject matter and style. The work on offer dates from Bauknecht’s early period in Davos, which was still very much marked by a search for style and a detailed interest in nature. During his stays at sanatoriums in the Grisons region, the self-taught artist found friendship and support within the German artists’ colony, and between 1919 and 1925 he maintained contact with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. In 1926, he retreated to a secluded cabin at the entrance to the Dischma Valley. Philipp Bauknecht is regarded as a major exponent of Expressionism as it developed in the Alps. In his works, as in this piece, he depicted the majestic mountain landscape, the austere, earthbound life of the mountain people, and later also the sophisticated social life in Davos. Auction date: November 6, 2026, 6:15 p.m.