At Grisebach in Berlin: Preview of the summer season public sale | EUROtoday

Wie ein Igel scheinen sich die Metallobjekte auf Günther Ueckers Nagelbild „Phantom“ in eine schützende Kugel einrollen zu wollen – um sich bei Standortwechsel des Betrachters optisch aufzulösen in fast wolkengleiches Licht- und Schattenspiel. Schwer zu fassen wie das Werk des Zero-Künstlers aus dem Jahr 1962 sind derzeit auch die Bewegungen auf dem Kunstmarkt. Dabei hätten Einlieferer, Händler wie Käufer gern, dass es üppig zuginge wie auf Ernst Ludwig Kirchners in weiche Blau-Grün-Töne getauchter „Heuernte“, die der Expressionist 1924 in seiner Davoser Zeit malte.

Im Rahmen der am 30. und 31. Mai bei Grisebach in Berlin abgehaltenen Sommerauktionen mit Kunst von Zeitgenossen, der Moderne und des 19. Jahrhunderts soll Kirchners Gemälde neben dem auf 400.000 bis 600.000 Euro taxierten Uecker-Relief in die Nähe der Millionengrenze kommen und als Spitzenlos 700.000 bis 900.000 Euro einfahren. Die Provenienz steht dafür: Es stammt aus der Familie des Künstlers und war von 1967 an das Museum Biberach entliehen.

A total of 494 works are being put up for auction at five auctions with a lower total expectation of twelve million euros – certainly more modest than last year, when 552 lots brought in eighteen million euros. However, it was already clear in 2023 that things would not continue to improve after the Corona boom: The top summer lot at the time, a painting of a “Trumpet Player in the Village” by Lyonel Feininger estimated at two to three million euros, was only sold in the post-sale for 1.49 million gross.

The world situation has not improved since then and encourages a cautious wait-and-see attitude. Is now really the right time to sell a valuable work? Or to invest in one? The auction trade must work on trust, keep those who are speculating on a sunnier autumn on hold and, on the whole, moderate a gradual change in taste. This also affects Expressionism, which has traditionally been widely represented in the German trade. Outstanding works always endure, but the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of post-war collectors certainly have their own, new interests.

A fastidiously chosen choice is the order of the day. This 12 months, Grisebach is being helped by supplier and collector Rudolf Zwirner, a pioneer of the Cologne artwork market, to meet his want. In a separate public sale, 33 hand-picked works on paper from his personal assortment might be provided. The spectrum ranges from Rembrandt to Max Ernst, and there’s additionally loads of scope for value.

The most precious piece is Pierre-Paul Prud'hon's ethereal, delicate gouache “L'Enlèvement de Psyché”, estimated at 200,000 to 300,000 euros, a preliminary research for a mythological portray by the artist, created round 1808, which is saved within the Louvre. Max Beckmann's expressive portray “The Way Home (Self-portrait with a War Cripple), created in 1915, stands in stark contrast to the Frenchman's work in terms of style and theme. The lithograph, of which 75 prints were made, is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 euros.

Beckmann, who gave Grisebach the 20 million euro record in 2022 with his “Self-portrait yellow-pink”, is also opening the auction of “Selected Works”. As a young man, the artist captured a pastel beach view on canvas in Jutland with vertical brushstrokes inspired by Paul Cézanne and dedicated the painting entitled “Foggy Sun” with the inscribed letters HBSL – Mr. Beckmann to his beloved – probably to his later first wife, Minna Tube (estimate 90,000 to 120,000 euros).

Another work by Kirchner, “Bluebells,” is also available, also from his family (350,000/450,000). An oil study from 1906, “Rapallo – Castello and Church,” by Wassily Kandinsky, and Oskar Schlemmer’s “Room with Seven Figures,” sketched on paper in 1937—each estimated at up to 350,000 euros—are among the other top-selling works.

In the Caspar David Friedrich memorial 12 months, works by the good romantic artist are a should. He is represented within the “Art of the 19th Century” public sale with 4 drawings and an early oil portray. The play of sunshine and shadow within the unfinished sepia drawing “Fire in a Church Ruin” (200,000/300,000) seems nearly summary. The sheet, dated round 1800, was submitted from the household assortment of Friedrich's brother. Caspar David Friedrich himself is to be included within the image as a romantic determine from behind: within the catalogue, artwork historian Werner Busch identifies him as the person in a prime hat sitting on a rock, whom Georg Friedrich Kersting drew in 1809/10 in “Looking out to sea”. The pencil drawing, painted in shades of gray, is predicted to fetch a formidable 150,000 to 200,000 euros.