Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Mit heiterem Blau - image-1
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Mit heiterem Blau - image-2
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Mit heiterem Blau - image-1Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Mit heiterem Blau - image-2

Lot 679 D

Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Mit heiterem Blau

Auction 1005 - overview Cologne
01.12.2012, 11:00 - Contemporary Art
Estimate: 120.000 € - 140.000 €
Result: 158.600 € (incl. premium)

Ernst Wilhelm Nay

Mit heiterem Blau
1956

oil on canvas. 73.5 x 92 cm. Nay. 56

Ernst Wilhelm Nay focused on the use of colour as a medium - not just on canvas, but also in theoretical writings. In 1955 he published a treatise entitled “Vom Gestaltwert der Farbe - Fläche, Zahl und Rhythmus” (The creative value of colour - area, number and rhythm). He writes:

“In each painting I must recognise a certain range of colours conclusively and in such a way that this produces a characteristic chromatic set for that painting. The set must be observed uniquely for each painting. I can implement this set in primary colours, in diametrical colour contexts, or in colours in one or more tonal values. With this in mind, I must use certain preferred variations of primary colours, i.e. elementary tones with cold/warm contrasts on the one hand and light/dark contrasts on the other, and I must provide a light set of tonal values with the intention of keeping the relevant colour structure cool. Black and white are effectively colours within the chromatic set.” (Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Vom Gestaltwert der Farbe - Fläche, Zahl und Rhythmus, in: Magdalene Claesges (ed.), E.W. Nay, Lesebuch, Selbstzeugnisse und Schriften 1931-1968, Cologne 2002, p.123).

Catalogue Raisonné

Scheibler 800

Provenance

Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne; Private Collection, Germany

Exhibitions

Cologne 1957, Galerie Der Spiegel, E.W. Nay, Ölbilder, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, exhib.cat.no.14