The three strokes in yellow, black and blue appear to be rapid gestures by the artist. But this is a calculated spontaneity given that Hans Hartung designs his pictures well in advance. The painting process is informed by numerous experiments involving aerosols, spray paint, various brushes, rollers, brooms, scraping, scratching and layers. His painting is driven by an interest in the dynamic inherent in nature, which manifests itself in the form of lightning, light phenomena or cloud formations. The careful placement of the three forms in T 1971-H15, is reminiscent of the writing of characters. Calligraphic elements can already be observed in the works he created at the beginning of the 1920s – even though there is no evidence of when Hartung first came into contact with East Asian calligraphy.
Hans Hartung (1904–1989)
T 1971-H15, 1971
Currently exhibited: Yes (Gallery: Boundless Painting)
Material: Acrylic paint on canvas
Size: 154 x 250 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_091
Image rights: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Keywords:
Previous owner: Galerie de France, Paris, 1971; private collection, Paris
Acquisition: Reinhard Ernst Collection, TAJAN, Paris, 2010
Solo exhibitions:
1971
‘Hans Hartung’, Galerie de France, Paris, France
‘Hartung, Grands formats 1961–1971’, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
Hans Hartung moved to Paris in 1932 after studying with painter and restorer Max Doerner at the Academy in Munich. His painting is driven by an interest in the dynamic inherent in nature, which manifests itself in the form of lightning, light phenomena or cloud formations. Calligraphic elements can already be observed in the works he created at the beginning of the 1920s – even though there is no evidence of when Hartung first came into contact with East Asian calligraphy. The calligraphic quality is evident in the spontaneous, rapid brushwork that defines Hartung’s compositions. His works are testimonies to consciously released energies as well as experienced sequences of movement and belong to the Informel, the artistic movement from France which existed in parallel to Abstract Expressionism in the USA.
The three strokes in yellow, black and blue appear to be rapid gestures by the artist. But this is a calculated spontaneity given that Hans Hartung designs his pictures well in advance. The painting process is informed by numerous experiments involving aerosols, spray paint (with the help or a converted vacuum cleaner), various brushes, rollers, brooms, scraping, scratching and layers. In the 1960s, his late work began and continued making artistic expression less individual. The designation T 1971-H15 in the piece’s working title refers with the letter T to ‘Tableau’, the panel painting, while a sequence of letters and numbers stands for the date of creation, among other things.
Hartung always painted sitting at the easel and never on the floor like many of his contemporaries. Having lost a leg fighting Nazi Germany outside Belfort, this was never an option for him. In 1972, he settled in Antibes, where he lived and worked until his death in 1989.
