The two narrow canvases were originally part of a monumental triptych painted by Sam Francis for the staircase of the Kunsthalle Basel, where the work was installed until 1964. He drew inspiration for the three murals, both in terms of size and the depiction of an abstracted water landscape, from Claude Monet’s Nymphéas murals (1920-1926) for the Orangerie in Paris. After Francis presented the triptych at documenta III in Kassel in 1964, Basel Mural III was badly damaged in transit to the United States. The artist decided to recut the undamaged parts and remount them. The result was four pieces. Two of the four rescued pieces were donated to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, while part F and H have been in the Reinhard Ernst Collection since 2020.
Sam Francis (1923–1994)
Basel Mural III (F + H), 1956–1958
Currently exhibited: Yes (Gallery: Colour's Dimension)
Material: Oil on canvas
Size: 387.3 x 52 cm; 387.3 x 115.5 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_504_505
Image rights: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Keywords:
1956
Commissioned by Arnold Rüdlinger for the Kunsthalle Basel
Acquisition: Reinhard Ernst Collection, Demsa Group, Istanbul, 2020
The two narrow canvases by Sam Francis are from the three-part monumental mural he made for the staircase of the Kunsthalle Basel from 1956 to 1958, commissioned by the director Arnold Rüdlinger. Originally, the canvas hung on the central wall before being moved and presented on the right-hand side and given the title Basel Mural III. Francis drew inspiration for the three murals from Claude Monet’s Nymphéas murals (1920-1926) for the Orangerie in Paris, both in the choice of format (three times 6m x 9 m each) and in the depiction of an abstracted water landscape. The flowing brushstrokes of bright yellows, reds and blues and the blank spaces of white-primed canvas evoke the aesthetics of Japanese paintings and prints, which were seminal for both artists. In addition, the almost transparent application of oil paint is owed to Francis’ long-standing interest in watercolour painting. Of the process, he wrote: ‘It is like filling large sails with paint’ [1], which speaks both to the freedom and grand gesture with which he filled the huge canvases.
Although the triptych was conceived for the Kunsthalle staircase, the acquisition committee rejected the work, so the work was taken apart. The central panel, Basel Mural II, was acquired by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. After the triptych was shown at documenta III in Kassel in 1964 in a raised hexagonal wall construction, Basel Mural I and III were badly damaged in transit to the United States. Basel Mural I was able to be preserved, and the artist donated it to the Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon Museum) in 1967. The third mural, on the other hand, could not be fully restored, so the artist decided to recut the undamaged parts and remount them. The left two of the four rescued parts were donated to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena by the Sam Francis Foundation in November 2009, while part F and H have been in the Reinhard Ernst Collection since 2020.
[1] W. C. Agee: ‘Sam Francis: A Painter’s Dialogue with Color, Light, and Space’, in: Sam Francis: Catalogue Raisonné of Canvas and Panel Painting, 1946–1994, ed. by Debra Burchett-Lere, Berkley 2011, p. 76.
