Lot 205 Dα

Together with other important works, the pivotal piece “Cézanne auf dem Weg zum Motiv” belonged to Grohmann's private collection - Baumeister dedicated it to his friend: “Für Will, herzlich" (For Will, warm regards).
Through numerous intense discussions with the artist, Grohmann had a clear understanding of Baumeister's inspirations and references, and this also included the special importance of Paul Cézanne. At the very beginning of the introduction to his 1963 Baumeister monograph, he writes: “[…] and, above all, he loved Cézanne. For him Cézanne was the turning point of modern painting, he studied him repeatedly and, even in his later years, he associated much of what he invented on his own with him. To a certain degree, he also saw Cézanne as the teacher of the cubists, who meant more to him than the 'Blauer Reiter' and whom he never ceased to admire.” (Will Grohmann, Willi Baumeister, Leben und Werk, Cologne 1963, p. 9). Our picture provided the title, so to speak, for an entire group of works that Baumeister created between 1947 and 1951. In these, according to Grohmann, “he once more explored - after a lengthy pause - the foundation of his tectonic possibilities and again occupied himself with the absolute figure and the construction of the painting.” (op. cit., p. 112).