Lot 29 Dα

In his 1911 watercolour “Sandgrube”, August Macke has used succinct forms and delicate tones to depict a landscape reshaped by human hand; occasional passages of hatching in black chalk accentuate the rough edges of the excavated area.
However, rather than a sandpit, it is more likely to be a quarry for clay, the raw material for the brickyard that can be recognised in the background. Around 1900 two brickyards began operating in the southwestern part of Bonn: the Lengsdorfer Ringofenziegelei and the Ziegelei Brenig in Friesdorf.
Both Macke and his close friend Hans Thuar recognised these factories as formally interesting motifs and depicted them in multiple works – in addition to the picture presented here, examples include Macke’s watercolour “Fabrik (Ziegelei)” from 1912 (Heiderich Aquarelle 176) and his painting “Landschaft mit Fabrik” from 1913 (Heiderich Gemälde 462) as well as Thuar’s painting “Ziegelei” from 1912 (Eggeling 35). The artist may have been particularly drawn to the interlocking of horizontally and vertically oriented forms as well as the stark contrast between the modern industrial facilities in the foreground and the gently extending horizon line of the hills of the Siebengebirge behind them.