(Leipzig 1904–1989 Antibes)
‘P40–1975-H13’, signed, dated Hartung 75, acrylic on cardboard, 74 x 104.5 cm, framed, (PS)

Provenance:
Lefebre Gallery, New York (gallery label on the reverse)
Private Collection, London
Christie’s London 15.11.2007, lot 338 – acquired there from the current owner

The present work is registered at the Fondation Hans Hartung et Anna-Eva Bergmann, Antibes and will be included in the Catalogue Raisonné de l’oeuvre de Hans Hartung, which is currently being prepared by the Fondation Hans Hartung et Anna-Eva Bergmann, Antibes.

Hans Hartung’s original stylistic idiom, typified by its painterly spontaneity and gestural authenticity, is based on his early experiences of Écriture automatique which had fascinated him as a young painter in the works of the French Surrealists. Despite the expressive lines and painterly execution which is reminiscent of the gestural speed of an Action Painting, Hans Hartung planned his oeuvre with exceptional meticulousness. In contrast to the approach of American Action Painting, he did not let his subconscious rule, instead marking out his lines carefully on the canvas in calligraphic form. In the present work the dominant, black lines demonstrate Hans Hartung’s irrepressible urge for movement. They wind in rhythmic paths, apparently the product of a rapid brushstroke, over the surface of the canvas, consolidating to fill the format and create an aesthetic whole.

“Black is, without doubt, my favourite colour. An absolute, cold, deep, intensive black. And I love colours which can be used to create stark contrasts. I’ve always preferred the cold colours. [...] I find that the colder the colour, the freer one can breathe. The lemon yellow has something radiant, vibrant, resounding about it.”
(Franz-W. Kaiser, Anne Pontégnie and Vicente Todoli: Hartung x 3, s.l., 2003, p.214.)