3328 - Morach Otto

Morach Otto 1887 Solothurn – 1973 Zurich Old Town in Solothurn with the Justitia Fountain. Circa 1914 Oil on canvas Monogrammed and numbered on the reverse: O.M. 3 Framed 60 × 49 cm Private collection, Switzerland Stephan Flury has verbally confirmed the authenticity of this painting. The years around 1914 marked a decisive phase in the career of Otto Morach, one of the leading figures of Swiss Modernism. During his stays in Paris and Munich, he had intensively engaged with Cubism and Futurism and translated their formal innovations into his own distinctive visual language. This painting, “Old Town in Solothurn with the Justitia Fountain,” was created during this period of artistic renewal and depicts a familiar scene from his hometown from an unusual perspective. The tightly clustered houses, the simplified facades, and the dark color palette interspersed with shades of red and green lend the cityscape an almost theatrical effect. The Justitia Fountain forms the focal point of the composition, while the three figures in the foreground underscore the scene’s peculiarly quiet atmosphere. The work illustrates Morach’s early path toward the expressive visual language with which he secured a firm place in Swiss art history. Auction Date: November 28, 2026 Approximate Auction Time: 4:47 p.m. CET