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Lot Essay
This work will be included in the forthcoming Hans Hofmann Catalogue Raisonné, sponsored by the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust.
Loosely translated as "Leisure with Dignity", Optium cum Dignitade encompasses Hofmann's 'push pull" philosophy of painting whereby he explored the ocular and chromatic qualities of paint. Here, against an uninhabited white backdrop, geometric blocks of vivid pigment tussle for attention with expressive brushstrokes of equally intense color, as if engaged in some form of aerial combat. Hofmann strongly believed in the inherent physical properties of paint and for him, the canvas or support had to be liberated by the removal of the illusionistic and the rediscovery of the picture-plane as an object in its own right. The picture itself could now become the focus, and become in this way an arena for a visual feast of color and contrast that would bring light, life and nature into the world: "Like the picture surface, color has an inherent life of its own. A picture comes into existence on the basis of the interplay of this dual life. In the act of predominance and assimilation, colors love or hate each other, thereby helping to make the creative intention of the artist possible" (H. Hofmann, "Texts by Hans Hofmann: 1951-1963", Hans Hofmann, New York, 1997, p. 99). As one of the major figures of Abstract Expressionism, Hans Hofmann represents a crucial bridge between European movements such as Cubism and Fauvism and the new bravura style of American painting. It is evident in a painting such as Optium cum Dignitade: Hofmann has formulated a new kind of painterly expression, which incorporates the Cubist structure and overlapping planes indicating depth and surface, as well as the Fauvist daring use of color and tonal contrasts to evoke a sense of unbridled energy.
Loosely translated as "Leisure with Dignity", Optium cum Dignitade encompasses Hofmann's 'push pull" philosophy of painting whereby he explored the ocular and chromatic qualities of paint. Here, against an uninhabited white backdrop, geometric blocks of vivid pigment tussle for attention with expressive brushstrokes of equally intense color, as if engaged in some form of aerial combat. Hofmann strongly believed in the inherent physical properties of paint and for him, the canvas or support had to be liberated by the removal of the illusionistic and the rediscovery of the picture-plane as an object in its own right. The picture itself could now become the focus, and become in this way an arena for a visual feast of color and contrast that would bring light, life and nature into the world: "Like the picture surface, color has an inherent life of its own. A picture comes into existence on the basis of the interplay of this dual life. In the act of predominance and assimilation, colors love or hate each other, thereby helping to make the creative intention of the artist possible" (H. Hofmann, "Texts by Hans Hofmann: 1951-1963", Hans Hofmann, New York, 1997, p. 99). As one of the major figures of Abstract Expressionism, Hans Hofmann represents a crucial bridge between European movements such as Cubism and Fauvism and the new bravura style of American painting. It is evident in a painting such as Optium cum Dignitade: Hofmann has formulated a new kind of painterly expression, which incorporates the Cubist structure and overlapping planes indicating depth and surface, as well as the Fauvist daring use of color and tonal contrasts to evoke a sense of unbridled energy.