Lot 317 Dα

August Macke's market scene appears to be as good as complete and seems to be the result of an extended process of deciding the best composition. It attests to the fact that by then the artist had already developed a highly concentrated formal idiom, showing the world less as isolated elements and instead as a lively whole. Despite any market being characterized by hustle and bustle, the artist manages to convey an exceptional sense of calm with the objects and persons portrayed. This is achieved through the flatness of the depiction, with its reduced volumes merely hinted-at through sparse shading. It is the monumental outlines used for the market women in particular that fosters the appearance of an unshakable stability that stands in exciting contrast to the theme of the piece.
The meditative peace of the women waiting on the market is also a crucial stylistic element of the watercolour with the same name created that same year (Heiderich watercolours 95). While eschewing the narrative qualities of the wide landscape format with its line of figures, Macke reduced the scene of our drawing for the latter piece and transformed it into a portrait format.