Press article : An extension of the artist - La Gazette Drouot

Hans HARTUNG 1904-1989
T1980-E 26, 1980

The owner of this painting, now aged around 85, was close to Hans Hartung during the last five years of his life. Living in the Cannes region, he shared many things with the painter, not least a passion for art. Shortly before the artist's death, they agreed to buy two works. Our collector had time to choose one, but not the second, when Hartung died on 7 December 1989. So it was from the Hans Hartung estate that he acquired this one, which he had already known perfectly for years. A letter from the administrator of the estate dated 8 June 1990, coming with a certificate of authenticity, confirms these circumstances.

Since then, this large composition, reflecting a slice of his life, has remained in his home. "This work is fascinating in its ability to illustrate a synthesis of Hans Hartung's career," explains auctioneer Besch. A rare red background, vivid and hypnotic, emblematic gestures, his brushstrokes like a seismic survey of the beginning of his career and, on the other side, the sharp marks of broom sweeps, typical of the last period of his creation : these are the assets of this acrylic. "As for me, I want to remain free. In spirit, in thought, in action. Not to let myself or others confine me", the artist declared in 1976 in his book, Autoportrait. The following year, as always, he began experimenting with new tools, such as the broom of "genêts" branches dipped in paint, which he struck against the canvas, the compressed-air gun, the revisited vine sulphate gun or the serpette, varying the marks left on the surface : a new stage in his quest for free gesture, instinctive and creative.

The year 1980 was devoted in particular to these large brooms of "genêts", a continuation of his worn brushes and Chinese paintbrushes and his scrapings of the 1960s. He made them from the trees in his garden in Antibes, right next to his studio, which is open to nature. The Cytisus scoparius or 'broom tree' was used for this function in ancient times, and was therefore closely linked to witchcraft. A symbolic reference that could only have pleased the magician Hartung.

Hans Hartung (1904-1989), T 1980-E 26, 1980, acrylic on canvas, inventory number on the frame, 92 x 150 cm. Estimate : 140000/160000€

Lot 175 of the auction of December 30th at 2.30pm

La Gazette Drouot N°45 du 15 Décembre 2023 p.123