7161 - Brauer, Arik

Brauer, Arik "Village in Algeria (Gateway to the Sahara)" Oil on wood with a chalk ground. 1946–54. 41.5 x 61 cm. Signed "BRAUER" in red with a brush in the lower left; titled "Gateway to the Sahara" in black chalk on the reverse; and dated, titled, and labeled "Oel XXXII" in various typefaces on mounted labels. Brauer Early Oil Paintings XXXVIII. Brauer’s enigmatic composition stimulates the viewer’s imagination with its difficult-to-interpret symbolism and abundance of fantastical details: In the foreground, a group of diverse, partly fragmentary figures or apparitions comes together; their actions appear significant but their purpose remains unclear. The only way out of this enigmatic scene, set in a largely self-contained space, is the gate, which, on the right, seems to lead into the deep darkness of a crypt, while further back, in the barren desert landscape, another plane of reality with distorted proportions opens up, and in the background, a rhythmic formation of hills stretches up to the sky. The early paintings of the Viennese phantasist are, as seen here, typically dominated by earth tones. Brauer had survived the end of the war in hiding in the allotment gardens of Ottakring and, emaciated, immediately made his way through the ruins of Vienna to the Academy, where he soon joined Fuchs, Hutter, and Lehmden in Albert Paris Gütersloh’s class. As late as 1951, he exhibited his works alongside Arnulf Rainer, Maria Lassnig, and others in the only exhibition of the legendary “Hundsgruppe,” before the Abstract artists and the Phantasts parted ways for good. After completing his studies at the Academy, Brauer cycled to Paris to visit Ernst Fuchs, but first traveled to North Africa and visited Algeria. Oriental and African themes have fascinated him ever since. This painting, created in connection with that trip, is likely one of the earliest expressions of this passion. The catalog raisonné erroneously lists the support as hardboard and differs slightly in the dimensions. Brauer himself did not number his early works—created between 1945 and 1954—with Roman numerals until later; he described and titled the works from memory, in the process making a few inaccuracies (see Brauer, Vol. I, p. 9). Provenance: Ernst Fuchs Collection, Vienna Exhibition: Marlborough Fine Art, London (with their adhesive label on the reverse) - Please request condition reports for individual 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.