Portrait of the art dealer Alfred Flechtheim Hanns Bolz

• Portrait of the famous art dealer, art collector and publicist Alfred Flechtheim (1878–1937) • In the style of New Objectivity, clean lines contrast with harmonious colours • A work by the young Bolz, whose career came to a very early end in his early 30s In 1918, Hanns Bolz died in his early 30s as a result of exposure to poison gas whilst serving as a soldier in the First World War. In his will, the young artist stipulated the completion of a project he had already begun himself: the destruction of all his artworks. The fact that this endeavour was unsuccessful is demonstrated by the ‘Portrait of the Art Dealer Alfred Flechtheim’ from 1910/11. Bolz was from the Rhineland, where he had studied before moving to Paris around 1908. There, he not only lived in a flat formerly rented by Pablo Picasso, but also moved in the artistic circles of Montmartre. He quickly established excellent connections with the other Germans living there. His works, stylistically rooted in the New Objectivity movement, caused a sensation. In 1912, he took part in the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne; in 1913, he exhibited at the Armory Show in the USA and at the Berlin Autumn Salon. Two of the pioneering art dealers of the modern era, Hans Goltz and Alfred Flechtheim, were among his patrons. The latter organised a memorial exhibition in 1922 following Bolz’s death, featuring 30 of the artist’s paintings – thus turning the desire to destroy his body of work on its head. The portrait of Flechtheim depicts his face in half-profile. The lateral lighting emphasises his striking facial features, whilst the tonal use of colour, in turn, harmonises the jagged forms of the painting. The portrait thus not only depicts Flechtheim in the style of the young Bolz, but also illustrates how quickly the latter established himself in Paris: having moved to Paris in 1908, just two years later he was already so well integrated into the art circles that he was painting Flechtheim, who in turn supported Bolz with exhibitions and sales. | 1885 Aachen – München 1918 | Moderne Kunst | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x2541 | Provenance: Der Neue Kunstsalon Max Dietzel, München, verso auf dem Keilrahmen mit dem Stempel; Neue Kunst Hans Goltz, München, verso auf dem Keilrahmen mit dem Etikett; Privatsammlung, Süddeutschland, bis 2008; Ketterer, München 3.12.2008, Los 230; The George Economou Collection, Athen, verso auf dem Rahmen mit dem Etikett, bei Vorgenannter erworben; Sammlung, Rheinland, seit 2020.

Estimation:€40,000

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