801 - Wittke, Peter

Wittke, Peter Munich, 20th century Collection of 30 loose, spontaneous drawings featuring circus motifs, 1958–1960: Cover sheet labeled: “CIRCUS, COLOR SKETCHES BY PETER WITTKE.” Accompanying sheet with handwritten text: “COLOR, LIGHT, PEOPLE, animals, tender music—and the LAUGHTER of the audience at the clowns: I sat down at the edge of the ring with my sketchpad and colored pencils and tried to capture it. It’s not easy to keep up with the perfection and pace of the two- and four-legged performers. Nevertheless, I hope you can sense what I wanted to express with my drawings: the magic of the circus world PW (P and W joined). The depictions include, among other things, clowns in the arena, animal acts featuring horses, elephants, and big cats, trapeze artists, acrobats, and performers, as well as the forecourt of the Apollo Circus. Each is pastel on paper, each approximately 50 x 60 cm, with a mat measuring 70 x 82 cm. Many are monogrammed and dated: PW (19)58 and PW (19)59 (P and W joined). Two sheets signed with full name: Peter Wittke. One sheet labeled: PW Knie (19)60 (Swiss Circus Knie). One backing board bears the artist’s address: Peter Wittke, Munich, Kunigundenstr. 21. Sheets are browned and have foxing spots. Tears in the paper. Mat boards with foxing spots. Each unframed.