Württembergische Gemäldegalerie

Collection Walte🎃r Reiser (acquired iꦛn from the above 9th January 1947)

Sale: Weinm♍üller, Munich, 21𝄹st November 1969, lot 1845

Collection Pergel, Düsseldorf (purchased from the ab꧒ove sale)

Sale: Ketterer Kunst, Munic𒉰h, 🍃23rd March 2002, lot 17

Manfred Wandel, Reutlingen (Stiftung für konkretꦏe Kunst) (purchased from the aওbove sale)

Thence by descent to the present owner

Sotheby’s is pleased to offer an exciting group of works by Willi Baumeiste♛r from the collection of Manfred Wandel, Stiftung für konkrete Kunst, Reutlingen (lots 32, 39, 54 & 55). The group comprises different periods and thus provides a wonderful overview of some of the artist's important developments of hi💛s oeuvre. As one of the leading artists of his time, Baumeister’s work represents the development of abstract painting in Germany and Europe. He studied at the famous Academy in Stuttgart in the class of Adolf Hölzel together with artists such as Oskar Schlemmer and Johannes Itten. He cultivated friendships with artists from various art movements that emerged during this time though did not align himself with any of them.

Reclining female nude presents an early work by Willi Baumeister and illustrates his artistic style of the 🔯beginnings while still influenced by Impressionism and Post-Impressionism though featuring the first signs of his transformation to a more expressive and abstract style. In 1911, the execution year of the present work, Baumeister was studying with Adolf Hölzel in Stuttgart and also visited Paris for the first time, clearly being affected by the art of his french fellow artists at the time. Although he chose the figurative and classic motif of a reclining nude, the present work reveals abstract features which already indicate his development into abstraction. He was equally eager to avoid all spatial illusion and especially the autonomy of form becomes visible and by this presents the nude in a particular elegant style. Space and figure are given as indefinite surfaces, which are only outlin🌠ed by their contours.

Today works by Willi Baumeister are part of numerous international institutional, and private as well as corporate collect🐼ions such as MoMA in New York, Städel Museum, Frankfurt and LBBW Bank, 🎀Stuttgart.

(referenced from the Willi Baumeister Stiftung GmbH; source: , accesseꦓd on 20 August 2022)