Lot 45 N

Ever since he had been a student in Munich and then in Paris – where he was particularly influenced by Henri Matisse – Hans Purrmann had repeatedly painted female nudes. Related to his well-known “Liegender Akt” of 1940, this dark-haired woman with lowered eyes rests on a red sofa. A patterned curtain sets an accent in the background, which has primarily been painted in dark blue, so that the bared figure with its light flesh tones stands out luminously. The finely articulated brushwork made up of many colours traces every nuance of surface, but also the modulation of the light. Where the body touches the sofa, the flesh tone incorporates its colour and shimmers in delicate tones of red. The bare skin’s connection with the red velvet of the sofa serves to intensify the sensuality of the image. This effect is also enhanced by the transparent fabric which, according to the former owner, was added to the previously completed work in 1946/1947. A total of three drawings from the period 1936 to 1940 document Purrmann’s intensive occupation with this image (Billeter/Dornacher ZA-1935-43/046 - ZA-1935-43/048).
Purrmann had already been living in Florence for seven years when he painted “Akt auf rotem Sofa”. After the Nazis took power, he was relieved to be able to take over the volunteer directorship of the Villa Romana on behalf of the Deutscher Künstlerbund.