523 - Hans Hartung* (Leipzig 1904 - 1989 Antibes)

Hans Hartung* (Leipzig 1904 - 1989 Antibes) G15, 1953 aquatint/paper 41 x 32,5 cm signed Hartung, numbered 62/250 SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 400 - 800 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 400 Hartung initially studied philosophy and art history in Leipzig and Dresden. As early as the 1920s, he created non-representational watercolors and drawings featuring lines and marks inspired by natural phenomena—such as lightning—and by Chinese ink painting. In 1928, he moved to Paris, where he met the Norwegian painter Anna-Eva Bergman, who would play a lasting role in his artistic and personal development. Hartung settled permanently in France in 1935. Following the outbreak of World War II, he joined the Foreign Legion and fought for France; he was severely wounded in 1944 and lost a leg. After the war, he was granted French citizenship and awarded the Croix de Guerre. Hartung achieved international renown in the 1950s. His abstract compositions evolve from energetic, often black lines set against colored backgrounds; the gesture involved is not merely spontaneous but frequently the result of a carefully prepared and technically varied working process. His techniques included scratching, the use of spray guns, vinyl paint, pastel, and grattage. 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.