7130 - Liebknecht, Robert

Liebknecht, Robert Landscape in Northern Berlin Oil on painting board. Circa 1932. 50 x 70 cm. Signed “R. Liebknecht” in pencil at the center of the lower edge; marked “878” in violet colored pencil on the reverse, as well as “M843” in pencil. This is likely the Gesundbrunnen area in Berlin’s Wedding district, which Liebknecht painted around 1932; his studio was located nearby, on Heubuder Straße. He fluidly connects broad, brisk brushstrokes with a loose touch and a harmoniously balanced palette, modeling the form in a pastose manner in places and then, in others, painting so dryly that the bristle structures of the coarse brush and the painting surface become visible. This cityscape, created shortly before his emigration, was preserved only by a stroke of luck, as nearly all of his pre-war works were destroyed—except for the few that his friend Kurt Tucholsky was able to send to him in Paris. In 1919, at the age of 16, Robert Liebknecht was confronted with the assassination of his father, Karl Liebknecht. Käthe Kollwitz, a friend of the family, encouraged him at that time to become a painter. After taking drawing lessons with Hans Baluschek and Willy Jaeckel, he began studying at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in 1923 under Ferdinand Dorsch, Max Feldbauer, and Robert Sterl. In 1933, he emigrated to Paris, where, in 1936, he was among the founders of the “Collective of German Artists” alongside Max Ernst, Otto Freundlich, and Paul Westheim. Provenance: Formerly from the artist’s estate Private collection, Hesse - Please ask for condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.