909 - Will Sohl, two figures in a nude study, pencil on paper, dated 1951

Will Sohl, two figures in a nude study, pencil on paper, dated 1951 (1906 Ludwigshafen – 1969 Heidelberg), pencil on paper, signed 'Will Sohl' lower right, dated 51 and with a dated dedication 'für Frau Margeritta …' of 19 October 1951. In horizontal format two nudes lie interlocked, the front figure lying on its side with drawn-up legs, the one behind lying across it. The outlines are set with a few confidently drawn lines and the inner form remains largely empty; only the background is filled with dense, diagonally laid bundles of hatching, so that the pale bodies detach themselves from the dark ground as a reserve. Age-appropriate condition, damage to the margins, slightly creased, partially stained. Image 33 x 69 cm (HxW), overall size 49 x 70 cm (HxW) Will Sohl grew up in Mannheim, left school in 1924 in favour of art and, after a short period studying architecture, studied painting in Düsseldorf, where he became a master pupil of Heinrich Nauen in 1928; in the same year he had his first exhibition at the Mannheim Kunstverein. From 1936 he lived in Heidelberg-Ziegelhausen. His work is indebted to Expressionism, whose pictorial language he continued after 1945 as well. His estate is held by the MARCHIVUM in Mannheim. The dedication to a named recipient marks the sheet as a personal gift and gives it a documented provenance.