3017 - Hartung, Hans

Hartung, Hans 1904 Leipzig – 1989 Paris Untitled. 1981 Oil pastel on paper Signed and dated lower left: Hartung 81; inscribed lower right. Dated on the reverse: 2/25/1981 Framed 29.3 × 23.3 cm (sheet size) Hans Hartung is considered one of the leading figures of 20th-century European abstract art, particularly the Informel movement. This artistic movement eschews fixed forms and representational depictions; instead, the free artistic gesture and immediate expression themselves become the central vehicles of the work’s visual impact. Even during his school years, Hartung developed a non-representational visual language consisting of spontaneous line drawings and splotches. Lightning—which fascinated him as a child during thunderstorms—became an early source of inspiration. In his later work, the line became an independent means of expressing movement, rhythm, and energy. In the work on offer, Hartung brings his characteristic visual language together into a dynamic composition. A luminous blue vertical plane and rich, densely placed black lines enter into a dynamic dialogue with the white areas of paper visible on the sides. The contrast between color, line work, and the unpainted background lends the sheet an intense presence. Auction date: November 28, 2026 Approximate auction time: 1:49 p.m. CET