622 - Erich Heckel (1883, Döbeln, Saxony – Radolfzell, 1970)

Erich Heckel (1883, Döbeln, Saxony – Radolfzell, 1970) “Ostend(e)” Watercolor and gouache on vellum. (19)16. Approx. 41 x 57.5 cm. Signed, dated, and titled “Ostend” (sic!) at the bottom center. On the reverse, various handwritten annotations by another hand. Accompanied by a written confirmation from Hans Geissler, Erich Heckel Estate, Hemmenhofen/Gaienhofen, dated March 15, 1995 (copy). We thank Renate Ebner and Hans Geissler, Erich Heckel Estate, Hemmenhofen, for their helpful guidance in cataloging this work. The watercolor is registered in the estate archive. • An expressive landscape depiction near Ostend from Heckel’s wartime deployment in Flanders • The vastness of the sky and sea provided Heckel with rest and tranquility during this time • A vividly colored watercolor from the important collection of Serge Sabarsky, New York “I am aware of how kind fate has been to me, allowing me to spend this time by the sea and, at least for a few days at a time, as a man of leisure. I was able to swim a lot and sketch a little now and then (…).” Erich Heckel to Gustav Schiefler (October 1, 1915). During World War I, Erich Heckel served as a medic at the field hospital in Ostend, Belgium, which was headed by the Berlin art historian Walter Kaesbach. Kaesbach succeeded in sparing numerous artist friends—such as Heckel, Max Beckmann, and Heinrich Nauen—from direct frontline duty by enlisting them in the medical corps. Their assignment even allowed the artists to continue painting and drawing, so that their time in Flanders during the war was repeatedly reflected in their motifs. But unlike his artist friends, Heckel does not depict the horrors of war he experienced; rather, he focuses on human vulnerability and transience, which he experienced more intensely than ever during the war. For him, trips to the sea provided respite from the harrowing experiences he endured as a medic in the military hospital. During these war years, he painted numerous landscapes, including many expansive coastal scenes with expressive sky compositions—the very kind that had already fascinated him during his stays in Dangast on the Baltic Sea. Heckel bathes the almost abstract canal landscape of his watercolor “Ostende” in glistening sunlight. The sky and dunes are an intense yellow, while the right half of the sky, the water of the canal, and the short shadows cast by the Flemish cottages and the reed-lined shore are a deep blue. The watercolor paint, applied predominantly in glazes, conveys a sense of transience, yet at the same time evokes a hopeful mood through the luminosity so characteristic of Heckel’s works. “Ostend is more beautiful than ever, and the sea is vast and eternal.” (Erich Heckel to Walter Kaesbach, October 5, 1918). Exhibition: Erich Heckel. The Early Years. Drawings, Watercolors, Prints, Städtische Galerie, Bietigheim-Bissingen 1995/96, p. 41; Galerie St. Etienne, New York 2014–2024; Erich Heckel, Neue Galerie Museum, New York 2025/26. Provenance: Galerie St. Etienne, New York; Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York, acquired from the aforementioned gallery, presumably in 1995; Vally Sabarsky Collection/Foundation, New York. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).