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Beyond Boundaries: Avant-Garde Masterworks from a European CollectionFrancis M. NaumannIn the early years of the Twentieth Century, such dramatic discoveries were made in the world of science and mathematics that, it could be argued, ordinary people were constrained to perceive the world differently. Even though many did not fully understand what had taken place, they knew that their very conception of the universe had been altered, and some feared (quite rightly, as the future would prove) that the newest innovations in technology might pose a threat to the peaceful existence of mankind. There is no question that these revelations affected the arts—literature, music, dance and the visual arts—which, in roughly the same period, experienced a dramatic upheaval of tradition, causing some to go so far as to question the very essence of art itself. A number of artists turned to a reliance upon alternative systems of thought as a rationale for their creative activities, from the fourth dimension and non-Euclidean geometry to an exploration of heightened spiritual awareness, one that with proper focus and guidance could serve to reveal the ultimate mysteries of the universe. All of this occurred in a period of social unrest, one that led to a world war in Europe and America and a revolution in Russia, replacing the monarchs of the past with various systems of egalitarian rule. This caused some to question and challenge all forms of political authority, particularly artists—who, after all, want no restraints of any kind imposed on their work. As a result, many sought a means by which to renounce governmental control, some seeking solace in the ideals of anarchism.The one characteristic that the artists included in the Beyond Boundaries Collection share is that they all came of age and matured as artists in roughly the same period, from 1910 through 1920, that is to say, at approximately the same time when these dramatic changes in their world were taking place. Even though they operated in highly diverse environments and sought inspiration from very different sources, each emerged and followed the basic principles and tenets of the artistic style with which they eventually became associated: (1) expressive or amorphic abstraction (Wassily Kandinsky, Francis Picabia); (2) Cubism and/or Futurism (Henri Laurens, Francis Picabia, Gino Severini); (3) Dada and/or Surrealism (Marcel Duchamp, Jean Crotti, Suzanne Duchamp, Max Ernst, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Kurt Schwitters, Tristan Tzara, Paul Eluard, George Grosz); (4) constructivism and geometric abstraction (Theo von Doesberg, Moholy-Nagy, Naum Gabo). Many aspects of contemporary art today owe their origin to techniques and innovations introduced by these artists, but there is one approach to the art-making process—where an idea takes precedence over the material form used to express it—that was unquestionably pioneered by a single artist in this group, Marcel Duchamp. In the case of the work by him contained in this collection—an ordinary sheet of paper seemingly selected at random and signed by the artist—the very nature of what constitutes a work of art is thrown open to question. Although these ideas would not take hold in the art world until the emergence of Conceptual Art in the 1960s, once they did, they “changed,” as Jasper Johns described the contribution of Marcel Duchamp, “the condition of being here.”Duchamp posited that a work of art has a life expectancy of 40 to 50 years, because after that time, he claimed, it was relegated to the dustbin of history. “I think a picture dies after a few years like the man who painted it,” he said toward the end of his life. “Afterward it’s called the history of art.” Yet works in museums continue to exert influence, particularly among young and impressionable artists who consciously seek inspiration from them. There is no question that every work in the present collection is of such rarity, high quality and importance, that they are each worthy of being included within the chronological framework of a comprehensive museum collection. In that sense, they will continue to exert their influence for many years to come, well beyond the confines of the artistic styles to which they belong and the time period in which they were created. Christie’s is honored to offer seven exceptional works by Schwitters from a European Collection in our Impressionist and Modern Art Works on Paper and Day Sale this season. These works range from paper collages to mixed media assemblages, and were executed between 1922 and 1947. While only two actually incorporate the word Merz in their titles—Mz x 5. Magistrats and Mz 491—all seven are prime examples of Schwitters’ exploration of the collage/assemblage process which his Merzbilder embodied.“It was not without reason that Kurt Schwitters signed several of his letters with the word ‘Merz’ and gave as his address all the four places where he had worked on his so-called ‘Merzbau’: Hanover in Germany, Lysaker and Hjertøya in Norway, and Elterwater in England,” writes Karin Hellandsjø. “Kurt Schwitters was Merz. Having discovered the word by accident in the winter of 1918-19, he gradually came to use it as a term to refer to all his work, and not just his works of art. For Schwitters, art and life were one and the same thing—a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ in which everything he came in contact with was given an artistic form: life, nature, music, poetry” (K. Orchard, ed., Schwitters in Norway, exh. cat., Henie Onstad Art Centre, Høvikodden, 2009, p. 7). “Merz,” a made-up word which takes its name from a fragment of the words “Kommerz und Privatbank,” was an artistic revolution in which art and life were to be merged through the “business” of assembling fragments and the detritus of modern life into new glorified forms and expressions of the triumph of the human spirit. As Schwitters’ friend and neighbor in Hanover, Käte Steinitz, recalled, during this period Schwitters was frequently seen on the streets of Hanover, “a crazy, original genius-character, carelessly dressed, absorbed in his own thoughts, picking up all sorts of curious stuff in the streets... always getting down from his bike to pick up some colourful piece of paper that somebody had thrown away” (Kurt Schwitters, A Portrait from Life, Berkeley, 1968, p. 68). From these fragments, Schwitters constructed poetic and miraculous constellations that expressed a new formal language and seemed to hint at a hidden order among the apparent chaos of his time. “During the war,” Schwitters recalled, “everything was in a state of ferment, the abilities and skills which I had brought with me from the academy were of no use whatsoever, and all around me people were fighting about stupid things which I myself couldn’t have cared less about...and then all of a sudden, the glorious revolution began. I don’t think much of such revolutions, for people must be ready for them. It’s like apples being shaken to the ground by the wind before they’ve time to ripen, such a shame. But it put an end to that enormous swindle which people call war. I quitted my job without notice and then things really got moving. The turmoil had only just begun. At last I felt free and I gave vent to my jubilation in a loud outburst. Not being wasteful, I took everything with me that I could find, for we were now an impoverished country. One can also shout with junk—and this I did, nailing and glueing it together” (quoted in F. Lach, Kurt Schwitters, Das literarische Werk, Cologne, 1973, vol. 5, p. 335).Beyond Boundaries: Avant-Garde Masterworks from a European Collection
Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)
Mz x 5. Magistrats
细节
Image size: 6 ¼ x 5 ¾ in. (15.9 x 14.5 cm.)
Mount size: 9 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. (23.8 x 18.6 cm.)
Mount size: 9 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. (23.8 x 18.6 cm.)
来源
Estate of the artist.
Edith Thomas, London (by descent from the above and until 1964).
Hanover Gallery, London.
Galerie Tarica, Paris.
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owners, circa 1970.
Edith Thomas, London (by descent from the above and until 1964).
Hanover Gallery, London.
Galerie Tarica, Paris.
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owners, circa 1970.
出版
K. Orchard and I. Schulz, eds., Kurt Schwitters, Catalogue Raisonné, 1937-1948, Bonn, 2006, vol. 3, p. 590, no. 3437 (illustrated).
展览
Hannover, Sprengel Museum; Dusseldorf, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and Munich, Haus der Kunst, Aller Anfang ist Merz, Von Kurt Schwitters bis heute, August 2000-May 2001, p. 180, no. 224 (illustrated in color).
荣誉呈献
Vanessa Fusco