72 - Martha Cunz* (St. Gallen 1876 - 1961 St. Gallen)

Martha Cunz* (St. Gallen 1876 - 1961 St. Gallen) Twilight color woodcut/paper 27 x 29 cm numbered N.o 18, inscribed Dämmerung Handdruck monogrammed in the plate CM SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 500 - 1000 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 500 The Swiss artist and woodcut specialist Martha Cunz began her studies in 1896 under Adolf Hölzel in Dachau, followed by training at the School for Women Artists in Munich, where Ludwig Schmid-Reutte and Christian Landenberger were her instructors. In 1900, she furthered her education in Paris under Luc-Olivier Merson and Lucien Simon. She received the decisive impetus for her major body of work in 1901 during a lithography course taught by Ernst Neumann; shortly thereafter, she turned to the Japanese-influenced multi-colored woodcut, a medium in which she became a leading figure. Cunz’s work is characterized by delicately graduated yet sharply defined planes of color—a hallmark of Art Nouveau and Classical Modernism. By 1927, she had created 71 woodcuts, including landscapes, cityscapes, and depictions of animals; her work in lithography continued until 1931. Over the next twenty years, she devoted herself primarily to painting, producing mainly landscapes and portraits in the styles of Symbolism and Expressionism. Cunz lived and worked in Munich until the outbreak of World War I, while making regular visits to the Swiss mountains and traveling to the Netherlands and Italy. In 1920, she had a studio built near her family home in St. Gallen and lived with her sister Clara until her death. Her work garnered early international recognition and was published in 1905 alongside pieces by Wassily Kandinsky, whom she is known to have influenced. Cunz ranks among the most important Swiss female artists of the turn of the century and is a notable representative of the Munich School. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.