Lot 323 Dα

In 1911 the life and bustle before the Macke family's house in Bonn was among the most important sources of inspiration for the graphic work of August Macke. In the smallest of spaces, the artist has used rapid and confident strokes to capture an abundance of people in this little drawing: adults and children watching the Carnival parade in a loose row along the edge of the street, passers-by rushing along behind them and two maids in the door of a building in the background. “In the view from his studio or living-room window Macke discovered other motifs worth depicting in his immediate surroundings. 'The area where we live has much that is stimulating about it', he wrote to Franz Marc. 'Packs of dogs, male and female riders, children beating each other up. Then the buildings around you look at you with living eyes. This part of town is quite extraordinarily dear to me.' [...] Most of the sketched figures and scenes from the street already indicate the elevated vantage point of the watching draftsman through their slightly downward view. The delineation of contours, which also capture a figure in its characteristic clothing and posture in the tiny format, is given special emphasis in these sketches.” (Ursula Heiderich, August Macke: Zeichnungen; Werkverzeichnis, Stuttgart 1993, p. 38).