(Vienna 1929–2021)
“Geh mir aus dem Weg”, 1970, signed Brauer and with dedication on the reverse: Liebe ... in alter Freundschaft mit vielen Grüssen und Wünschen Ihr Brauer, signed again Brauer, with cat. rais. no. 227, oil on primed paper on plywood, 50 x 73 cm, framed

Illustrated and Registered:
Brauer. Monographie mit Werkkatalog. Jugend und Volk, 1972, page 240, no. 227

Colour illustration: Arik Brauer, cat. rais. II, Die bibliophilen Taschenbücher, Harenberg, 1984, page 103, cat. rais. oil 227

Provenance:
Sale Kunsthaus Lempertz, 4 June 2004, lot 67
Kunstsalon Kovacek, Stallburggasse
Private collection, Vienna

Why does man paint? I have racked my brains all my life, but of course I have not found a full answer. Things are simple and clear only as long as you don’t think about them.…

Arik Brauer

Instructions for layered painting
(above the painting ground)

There are other ways,
but this way works, too.

... Oil paint, applied thinly, proves to be the most durable and is the easiest to master in form and colour. Also, a completely smooth ground is best suited for the technique discussed here. A plywood or pressboard is covered on both sides with drawing paper. Hardboard is unsuitable because it is too rough on one side and too smooth on the other. The drawing paper should not be too thick or too tightly bound; cheap, medium-weight paper is best. This absorbs the glue well and does not create too much tension. It is necessary to soak the paper well for a few hours so that it can be laminated in a soft, swollen state. For the glue, use white cold glue (polyvinyl acetate), and rub it evenly onto the board, preferably with a rubber roller. Then laminate the damp paper by rolling it in a star shape from the centre to the edges with the roller. This process is necessary on both sides of the plate to prevent it from warping. Let it dry well.
For priming, use white or toned waterpaint, the strongly set type for exterior facades. The binder in these paints is also polyvinyl acetate, which smells a little sour, so that your paper, soaked on both sides with this material, forms a very tough surface.
This also prevents the grain of plywood or small crumbs of wood from squeezing through the painting. The priming is diluted with water to such an extent that it runs when applied. It is applied in three coats and smoothed out each time with a broad, flat and soft hair brush. Finally, lightly sand the base with fine glass paper to roughen the surface evenly. –You’re sure to make it this far. Now the painting begins.

Arik Brauer – from the aforementioned Werkverzeichnis II, Die bibliophilen Taschenbücher