VIENNA.- The focus of Dorotheum’s auctions held from 27 to 29 November will be entirely on modern and contemporary art. Offering more than 500 works, they will reflect the vast spectrum of 20th-century international and Austrian art.

In the past few years, Dorotheum has succeeded in establishing an excellent reputation in the field of post-war avant-garde art, with works by the era’s leading artists changing hands in their sales. Avant-garde movements from Italy and Germany will once again feature prominently in the upcoming auctions. Examples include a large-sized composition Integrazione ovale in black and white, an important early painting by Carla Accardi (1958, € 160,000 – 240,000), as well as works by Piero Dorazio and Giulio Turcato. In 1946, these three artists were co-founders of the Forma group in Rome. Agostino Bonalumi, whose textured canvas Rosso will be offered for 90,000 to 120,000 euros, was one of the protagonists in the Milan art scene. The sale will also include three works by Alberto Burri, which oscillate between Post-Minimalism and Arte Povera. Nero Cellotex (€ 150,000 – 200,000) is among them. Mario Schifano’s large composition entitled A la Balla painted in 1965, is meant to simulate movement (€ 150,000 – 250,000).

Germany after 1945
In Germany, post-war modernism was primarily developed by the group ZERO. On offer are three excellent works by Günther Uecker, including the more recent composition Field made in 2012/13, measuring 100 by 80 centimetres (€ 400,000 – 600,000). The partially painted square Poetry of Destruction (€ 160,000 – 240,000) will also be for sale. In the six-part work Johannes from 1995, which can be assigned to his Ash Pictures, the artist makes reference to the catastrophe of Chernobyl. Handwritten quotations from the Gospel of Saint John are flanked by images of ashes and nails (€ 200,000 – 300,000). Uecker’s fields of nails can simultaneously be interpreted as an ‘homage to nature’ and as a ‘never-ending campaign of art against the interminable campaigns of humans against their fellow humans and nature’ (M. Ackermann).

Using oil, pigment, and fire, Otto Piene, a founding member of ZERO, created After April (€ 55,000 – 75,000). For Anselm Kiefer’s watercolour Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus) from 2012, Dorotheum specialists estimate it to achieve between 200,000 and 300,000 Euro. Hans Hartung, displaying what seems like a calligraphy note, proves an unparalleled master of Art Informel. His acrylic picture T 1963-R50 on a black background represents his artwork at its peak. Starting in 1953, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, one of Germany’s most influential post-war painters, explored the influence of music on his art. Nay’s Einklang (Harmony) – black linear structures playing around spontaneously placed gestural forms of colour – is an excellent example of his Rhythmic Images (€ 200,000 – 300,000).

A wide selection of works by pioneering Austrian avant-garde artists is highlighted by Maria Lassnig, who’s painting Blasse Hockende (Pale Crouching Female Figure), one of her typical Body Awareness Pictures in blue, green, and ochre tones from 1972, will be up for auction (€ 130,000 – 250,000). Furthermore, the auction will present works by Arnulf Rainer and Alfons Schilling, a picture object by Hans Staudacher from 1952, and a work by the great maverick Hans Bischoffshausen.

Further internationally renowned artists with artworks in the auction include Alex Katz, Cy Twombly, Victor Vasarely, Bernar Venet, Martin Kippenberger, Julije Knifer, and Tom Wesselmann.

Modern Art
Alexej Jawlensky’s oil painting Olive tree, Wall, Wind from 1907, which will enter the modern art sale with an estimate of between 180,000 and 250,000 euros, was inspired by Pointillism. A large female nude by Pierre-Auguste Renoir measuring 31 by 26 centimetres dates from the period 1915–1919 (€ 170,000 – 220,000). Bernard Buffet frequently depicted his wife, as he did in Annabel en torero assise from 1986, worth between 130,000 and 180,000 Euro. In Oreste e Pilade, Giorgio de Chirico has translated his enigmatic Pittura Metafisica into a portrait, a complex work from 1966 (€ 140,000 – 180,000).

The sale also offers two motifs by Carl Moll, a Still Life with Roses from 1927 estimated between 120,000 and 180,000 Euro and an atmospheric autumnal view of the Viennese suburb of Döbling (1916, € 120,000 – 200,000). A special highlight will be Fritz Wotruba’s Standing Figure (with Raised Arms). The bronze sculpture from an edition of 12 casts dates from 1958 (€ 100,000 – 150,000).