Erich Heckel, Kugelläuferin, 1916, Watercolor Over Lithography, Signed, German Expressionist

Erich Heckel
Döbeln 1883 - 1970 Radolfzell

Kugelläuferin / Ball Runner, 1916
Watercolor over lithography on handmade paper with watermark
Signed and dated in pencil lower right
Image: 28.8 x 20.4 cm
Sheet size: 50 x 35.5 cm
Frame: 63 x 49 cm
Catalogue raisonné Dube 231 I/II

Apart from the watercolouring, probably also a unique print.
Dube lists two print states:
1. signed E. Heckel lower left and 4 mm taller than 2
2. the image shortened and the inscription removed.
The sheet offered here has a shortened image, but still has parts of the inscription.

Viewing and collection are possible by prior appointment.
Authenticity will be confirmed in writing.

In 1904, Heckel began studying architecture at the Technical University in Dresden, but gave it up again just one year later. When Heckel joined forces with his artist friends Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Fritz Bleyl, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to form the artist group "Die Brücke" in 1905, the path to Expressionism was paved. The artist now devoted himself to various printing techniques such as woodcut, lithography, and etching. Landscapes of radiant color emerged. In the fall of 1911, Heckel moved to Berlin. He was already acquainted with Pechstein, Nolde, and Mueller, who had joined the "Brücke" artists, and now he met Marc, Macke, and Feininger. In 1912, Heckel and Kirchner painted the chapel for the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne. A year later, the "Brücke" was dissolved, and a first special exhibition of Heckel's works took place at Gurlitt in Berlin. from 1915 to 1918, Heckel worked as a nurse for the Red Cross in Flanders, then returned to Berlin, which remained his main residence until early 1944. However, Heckel spends most of his summers on the Flensburg Fjord. Numerous trips take Heckel to the Alps, southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy, among other places. In 1937, 729 of the artist's works are confiscated from German museums, and in the year before the end of the war, aerial bombs destroy his studio in Berlin. All his printing blocks and numerous other works were destroyed. Heckel then moved to Hemmenhofen on Lake Constance. In 1949, he was appointed to a teaching position at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe, which he held until 1955. During this decade, still life became increasingly important in Heckel's work. The depictions are now executed in a calmer, more balanced style and convey an almost lyrical mood. In 1953, solo exhibitions are held in numerous cities in Germany to mark Erich Heckel's 70th birthday, and the artist is honored in the same way on his 80th birthday. Heckel also received further honors and awards: the Art Prize of the City of Berlin (1957), the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (1961), and the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1956).