Hans Hartung
T1962-U29
Artist
Hans Hartung
(1904, Lipsko - 1989, Antibes), Německo
Original Title
T1962-U29
Date1962
Mediumvinyl paint and pastel on canvas
Dimensions58 x 250 cm
Classificationspaintings
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionHans Hartung was a prominent figure of informalist painting, tachisme, and lyrical abstraction. He was also an idiosyncratic individual with a refined artistic style which inspired following generations of artists. His persona combined a strong inclination toward both experimentation and sophisticated aesthetic quality, allowing him to continuously develop the medium of painting toward new approaches and styles challenging traditional understandings of painting. His distinctive artistic style matured during the period leading up to World War II, spontaneously mirroring contemporary socio-political unease. Essential features of Hartung’s artistic language were graphic strokes and shapes set against differently coloured planes, which constantly oscillate between wildness and refinement, chaos and control, shadow and light, dynamic movement and quiet suspension. A central element of his art became the line, its clustering, and its leading in different directions. Hartung’s post-war work was heavily influenced by Asian calligraphy, which lent it an interconnectedness with order and a focus on conscious work with the subconscious. In the context of the dynamic and lyrical qualities of his work, it is also worth noting Hartung’s strong connection with nature and his obsession with music. He intentionally titled his artworks according to years and series, emphasizing a rationalist approach and eliminating the viewer’s potential imagination, which could diverge from the work itself toward figurative and imaginative associations.
The piece T1962-U29 (1962) clearly evidences Hartung’s meditative style, which he developed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hartung abandoned his distinctive style of layering black brushstrokes in favour of vertical, energetic lines which appear to extend beyond the canvas. The undefined blue background evokes an infinite seascape and imbues these canvases with a new, lyrical air inspired by natural phenomena.
Hans Hartung (1904, Leipzig – 1989, Antibes) initially studied philosophy and history of art at the Universität Leipzig while also maintaining an interest in music, astronomy, and religion. He subsequently studied art at the Kunstakademie in Leipzig and later in Dresden, eventually completing his studies in 1928 in Munich, under artist and theoretician Max Dörner. From 1926 to 1932, Hartung lived in Paris, where he became acquainted with the traditions of modern art. Between 1935 and 1936, he maintained close ties with Vasilij Kandinsky, whose work he was familiar with since his studies in Munich. Hartung’s first major solo exhibition was organized by curator and art critic Christian Zervos at the Jeu de Paume in Paris in 1937. The following year, Hartung took part in the large-scale anti-Nazi exhibition Twentieth Century German Art at the New Burlington Galleries in London. The turbulent wartime period interrupted his artistic practice. During the war, Hartung endured time in an internment camp, a concentration camp, and on the front, as part of the French Foreign Legion. Due to an injury, his right leg had to be amputated. After World War II, Hartung settled in Paris, received French citizenship, and returned to returned to his artistic practice, which was receiving widespread public recognition at the time. During his life, he received several international awards, including the award Guggenheim International Award for the Europe-Africa section (1956), and the Grand Prize for Painting at the 30th Venice Biennale (1960). Hartung’s first post-war exhibition took place at the Galerie Lydia Conti (1947) and was followed by exhibitions at the Galerie de France (1956) and the Galerie Craven (1956). Important international exhibitions of his work included Younger European Painters: A Selection at the Guggenheim Museum (1953–1954), a retrospective at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris (1969), and solo exhibitions of his new work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1975) and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1980). Hartung spent the last two decades of his life living in a villa in Antibes with his wife, Norwegian painter Anna-Eva Bergman. The Hartung-Bergman Foundation, created after their death, manages their artistic estates. Hartung’s graphic works were exhibited in Prague in 1964 as part of the exhibition Contemporary Currents of International Graphics at the Hollar Gallery, which subsequently travelled to Cheb, Zlín, Uherské Hradiště, and Karlovy Vary.
The piece T1962-U29 (1962) clearly evidences Hartung’s meditative style, which he developed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hartung abandoned his distinctive style of layering black brushstrokes in favour of vertical, energetic lines which appear to extend beyond the canvas. The undefined blue background evokes an infinite seascape and imbues these canvases with a new, lyrical air inspired by natural phenomena.
Hans Hartung (1904, Leipzig – 1989, Antibes) initially studied philosophy and history of art at the Universität Leipzig while also maintaining an interest in music, astronomy, and religion. He subsequently studied art at the Kunstakademie in Leipzig and later in Dresden, eventually completing his studies in 1928 in Munich, under artist and theoretician Max Dörner. From 1926 to 1932, Hartung lived in Paris, where he became acquainted with the traditions of modern art. Between 1935 and 1936, he maintained close ties with Vasilij Kandinsky, whose work he was familiar with since his studies in Munich. Hartung’s first major solo exhibition was organized by curator and art critic Christian Zervos at the Jeu de Paume in Paris in 1937. The following year, Hartung took part in the large-scale anti-Nazi exhibition Twentieth Century German Art at the New Burlington Galleries in London. The turbulent wartime period interrupted his artistic practice. During the war, Hartung endured time in an internment camp, a concentration camp, and on the front, as part of the French Foreign Legion. Due to an injury, his right leg had to be amputated. After World War II, Hartung settled in Paris, received French citizenship, and returned to returned to his artistic practice, which was receiving widespread public recognition at the time. During his life, he received several international awards, including the award Guggenheim International Award for the Europe-Africa section (1956), and the Grand Prize for Painting at the 30th Venice Biennale (1960). Hartung’s first post-war exhibition took place at the Galerie Lydia Conti (1947) and was followed by exhibitions at the Galerie de France (1956) and the Galerie Craven (1956). Important international exhibitions of his work included Younger European Painters: A Selection at the Guggenheim Museum (1953–1954), a retrospective at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris (1969), and solo exhibitions of his new work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1975) and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1980). Hartung spent the last two decades of his life living in a villa in Antibes with his wife, Norwegian painter Anna-Eva Bergman. The Hartung-Bergman Foundation, created after their death, manages their artistic estates. Hartung’s graphic works were exhibited in Prague in 1964 as part of the exhibition Contemporary Currents of International Graphics at the Hollar Gallery, which subsequently travelled to Cheb, Zlín, Uherské Hradiště, and Karlovy Vary.
