3018 - Erich Heckel

Erich Heckel 1883 Döbeln – 1970 Hemmenhofen Performing Artists. 1928 Ink on paper Signed, dated, and titled lower right: Erich Heckel Performing Artists 1928 Framed 58 × 45.5 cm (sheet size) Private collection, Switzerland The work is registered in the Erich Heckel estate archive. This ink drawing served as the basis for the painting “Die Bedini-Taffani,” created in the same year, which is now in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne (Haubrich Collection). After initially studying architecture in Dresden, Erich Heckel turned to painting and graphic art. Together with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Fritz Bleyl, he founded the “Brücke” artists’ group in 1905 and became one of the leading figures of German Expressionism. In 1911, he moved to Berlin, where city life and the world of the circus and variety shows became major motifs in his work. During World War I, he served as a medic in Flanders. In the 1920s, his visual language evolved into a calmer, more representational style. After his art was ostracized by the Nazis and his Berlin studio was destroyed in 1944, he settled on Lake Constance. Date of auction: November 28, 2026 Approximate auction time: 1:50 p.m. CET