38 - August Macke

August Macke Sitzender Akt im Grünen Circa 1913 Watercolour and gouache on laid paper. 46.4 x 40.2 cm. Framed under glass. Stamped "Nachlass AUGUST MACKE" (Lugt 1775b) on backing card, therein numbered "38" and inscribed "August Macke 1913 Sitzender Akt im Grünen Oel auf Papier" by hand. - Very good condition. Heiderich Aquarelle 303 Provenance Galerie Rudolf Probst, Mannheim; Dr. Otto Jordan Collection, Munich (1950/51); thenceforth family ownership, South Germany Exhibitions Koblenz 1947 (Alte Burg), Lebendige Kunst. Malerei, Graphik, Plastik, cat. no. 36; Trier 1947 (Werkschule), August Macke. Gedächtnisausstellung, cat. no. 43; Aachen 1948 (Suermondt-Museum), August Macke. Gedächtnisausstellung des Museumsvereins, cat. no. 87 Literature Gustav Vriesen, August Macke, 2nd extended ed., Stuttgart 1957, cat. no. 348, with il. p. 291; exh. cat. Macke. Aquarell-Ausstellung, Städtisches Kunsthaus Bielefeld 1957, cat. no. 348, with ill. p. 43 (not exhibited) August Macke saw the paintings of the French painter Robert Delaunay for the first time in 1912; the artists also met in person during visits in the autumn of that year and early 1913. Macke was fascinated by Delaunay’s experiments with colour, which the Frenchman used to further develop cubist and futurist visual ideas in luminous tones. Inspired by Delaunay’s work and personality, Macke began to unite naturalistic observation with abstract colouristic harmonies. Our watercolour also points to this influence: it delightfully combines a naturalistically executed female nude with a surrounding space broken down into abstract forms. The seated model, who directly faces the viewer with her elegantly crossed legs and lowered gaze, is embedded within a colourful ornamentation, that stands for the natural forms of a garden. The shades of green and red, that dominate this surrounding space, also appear within the contours of the body, where they stand in fascinating contrast to the light pink and white of the flesh tones. In 1912 August Macke occupied himself extensively with a series of female nudes, which he carried out in the form of drawings and watercolours (see Heiderich Zeichnungen 1061-1064 und Aquarelle 158-160). These also include a brush-and-ink drawing which depicts the seated model in a pose that is almost identical to our watercolour. For this reason Ursula Heiderich considers a chronological connection with this group of works to be likely, while Gustav Vriesen dates “Sitzender Akt im Grünen” to 1913.