Oil on canvas. Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Signed and dated again on the reverse of the canvas, as well as titled and inscribed on the stretcher, “Erich Heckel / Mädchen am Meer”. 83 x 96 cm.
[AR].
- Atmospheric composition showcasing man and nature in harmony. - Since the “Brücke” period, the motifs of bathers and nudes in the open air have ranked among Erich Heckel's key pictorial themes. - In “Mädchen am Meer,” Heckel visualizes his metaphysical experience, which gained increasing significance during the time of the painting's creation. - Inspiration and retreat: the artist found new creative energy at the Baltic Sea after the end of the First World War. - In the year the work was made, he was commissioned to paint a mural in the Angermuseum in Erfurt, which included a beach scene. - In family ownership for 57 years.
We are grateful to the legal representatives of the Hess family for their kind advice.
LITERATURE: Andreas Hüneke, Erich Heckel. Catalogue raisonné of paintings, murals, and sculptures, vol. II (1919-1964), Munich 2017, catalog no. 1922-4 (illustrated in color) Paul Vogt, Erich Heckel, Recklinghausen 1965, no. 1922-4 (illustrated). - Roman Norbert Ketterer, Moderna Kunst IV, Campione d'Italia, 1967, cat. no. 35 (illustrated in color on p. 55). Roman Norbert Ketterer, Modern Art V, Campione d'Italia, 1968, cat. no. 41 (illiustrated in color on p. 51). Christian Rathke, Erich Heckel im Schleswig-Holsteinischen Landesmuseum. Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Schleswig 1980, p. 68. Sotheby's London, German & Austrian Art, October 6, 1999, lot 151.