Private Collection, North-Rhine-Westphalia
Acquired by the present owner in Germany in 1999

The canvas is not lined. There is a repaired tear with an associated 7 by 6cm. area of retouching in the green field to the left of the composition and a small repaired tear with an associated 2 by 2cm. area of retouching in the grey cloud near the upper left edge. There are very small areas of retouching to all four corners, though mainly to the upper right corner. There are scattered specks and a 4cm. broken line of retouching in the right half of the sky. All retouching is visible under UV light. Apart from a thick layer of varnish, this work is in overall good condition. Colours: Overall quite accurate, although the colours are more vibrant in the original. The yellows are brighter and the reds are more luminous in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

383L10007_COMP
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Das rote Haus, 1913, oil on canvas, Private Collection

In its maturity and immediacy of style, the present work marks one of Erich Heckel's most interesting periods in his extensive œuvre. From 1919 onwards the artist spent the summer months away from his studio in Berlin at Osterholz, an idyllic Schleswig-Holstein peninsula. Earlier on, together with his former fellow Brücke members Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Hermann Max Pechstein and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Heckel had already travelled to Dangast in 1910, a small fishing village near Germany's North Sea, Moritzburg and subsequently to Osterholz in search of the wonders of the natural world, unfettered by the restraints of civilisation, as the way towards a healthy body and mind. Attracted by the freedom, wilderness and simplicity of this remote place away from the city, the artist produced works in which the fluidity and expressiveness of brushstrokes reflect his sense of artistic liberation as well as his continuous development of style. An earlier work of the same subject matter from 1913 (see P. Vogt, Erich Heckel, Recklinghausen, 1965, no. 51) as well as a later version from 1920 (see P. Vogt, Op. Cit., no. 11) brilliantly exemplify this development.

Haus des Holzschuhmachers is a fine example of the artist's bold use of colour, with a muted yellow light seeping out from beneath a billowing storm cloud, casting the house in a curious glow. The bleak surroundings of the building perfectly encapsulate the artist's search for scenes of loneliness, as it lies isolated and exposed on top of a hill. In a letter to Lyonel Feininger dating from 1919, the artist commented about the tranquil atmosphere of the Osterholz surroundings: 'It is so liberating to live in this quiet, simple landscape' and in 1920 to Dr. Walter Kaesbach Heckel noted: 'There are such interesting changes in the structure of the landscape and such intense colours...extraordinary blues in the distance, that I have never seen before' (quoted in C. Rathke, Erich Heckel im Schleswig-Holsteinischen Landesmuseum, Gemälde – Aquarelle – Zeichnungen, Schleswig, 1980, pp. 13-14,💟 translated from Germa🌸n).

Fig. 1, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Das rote Haus, 1913, oil on canvas, Private Collection