Lot

58

Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Ansicht von Avignon. Verso: Mutter mit Kind

In Evening Sale - Modern and Contemporary Art

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Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Ansicht von Avignon. Verso: Mutter mit Kind - Image 1 of 2
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Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Ansicht von Avignon. Verso: Mutter mit Kind
Oil on canvas. 72 x 80 cm resp. 80 x 72 cm (visible dimensions). 89.4 x 78.4 cm (total canvas dimensions). Framed. Signed 'Muter' in blue lower left. Signed 'Muter' in grey lower left verso. - In fine condition with fresh colours. Small losses of paint in margin areas.

The verso view is documented in the Photographic Archive of Galeria Bargera, Cologne.

Provenance
Galerie Bargera, Cologne; Private collection, Rhineland

This double-sided painting unites two disciplines mastered by Mela Muter: landscape and portrait.
In 1940 the war drove Mela Muter to flee from Paris to southern France, where she lived in Avignon part of the time and created striking views of the city. This magnificent panorama captures its spatial context from an elevated vantage point and shows the historic city in a warm atmosphere flooded with light. The olive trees and simple residential buildings in the foreground lead us to the two arms of the Rhône. To the right in the middle ground, on the near riverbank, rises the silhouette of the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, which once marked the border between the Kingdom of France and the Papal Territory of Avignon. The ruin of the Pont Saint-Bénézet can be recognised above the second arm of the river; the town’s medieval core stretches out behind it, crowned by the monumental walls and towers of the papal palace. Muter mastered the depiction of this complex, many-layered landscape; organic natural forms and the cubic contours of buildings merge into a harmonious unity. The use of warm tones of white and ochre that seem to reflect the sun as well as the accents in fresh blue and red are characteristic of her views from southern France.
The artist’s emotional connection with the theme of motherhood becomes clear in the double portrait on the other side. Depictions of women with their children, often from the most modest social classes, are among her most common subjects. The seated mother forms a single compositional unit with the small child on her lap, and the cool, nuanced variety of flesh tones as well as the blue tones of the clothing further underscore this bond. The mother’s downturned face and the earnest gaze of her child exclude any kind of sentimentality; representational details like the dots on the blouse and the cross window shimmering through the white curtains situate the scene in the midst of life.
Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Ansicht von Avignon. Verso: Mutter mit Kind
Öl auf Leinwand. 72 x 80 cm bzw. 80 x 72 cm (Sichtmaß). 89,4 x 78,4 cm (Gesamtmaß Leinwand). Beidansichtig gerahmt in Klapprahmen. Unten links blau signiert 'Muter'. Rückseitig unten links grau signiert 'Muter'. - In farbfrischer Erhaltung. Kleine Farbverluste in den Randbereichen.

Die rückseitige Ansicht ist im Fotoarchiv der Galerie Bargera, Köln, dokumentiert.

Provenienz
Galerie Bargera, Köln; Privatsammlung Rheinland

In diesem doppelansichtigen Gemälde vereinen sich die beiden Meisterdisziplinen Mela Muters: die Landschaft und das Bildnis.
1940 floh Mela Muter vor dem Krieg aus Paris nach Südfrankreich und lebte teils in Avignon, wo sie eindrucksvolle Ansichten der Stadt schuf. Dieses prachtvolle Panorama erfasst die räumliche Situation von einem erhöhten Standpunkt aus und zeigt die geschichtsträchtige Stadt in einer warmen, lichtdurchfluteten Atmosphäre. Olivenbäume und einfache Wohngebäude im Vordergrund leiten über zu den beiden Flussarmen der Rhône. Rechts im Mittelgrund ragt am diesseitigen Ufer die Silhouette des Tour Philippe-le-Bel auf, der einst die Grenze zwischen dem Königreich Frankreich und dem päpstlichen Territorium von Avignon kennzeichnete. Über dem zweiten Flussarm ist die Ruine der Pont Saint-Bénézet zu erkennen, dahinter erstreckt sich der mittelalterliche Stadtkern von Avignon, gekrönt von den monumentalen Mauern und Türmen des Papstpalastes. Muter beherrschte die Schilderung dieser komplexen, vielfach gestaffelten Landschaft meisterhaft, organische Naturformen und kubische Gebäudeumrisse gehen eine harmonische Einheit ein. Charakteristisch für ihre südfranzösischen Ansichten ist die Verwendung von warmen Weiß- und Ockertönen, die die Sonne zu reflektieren scheinen, akzentuiert von frischem Blau und Rot.
Die emotionale Verbundenheit der Künstlerin mit dem Thema der Mutterschaft wird in dem umseitigen Doppelporträt deutlich. Darstellungen von Frauen mit ihren Kindern, oft aus einfachsten Gesellschaftsschichten, gehören zu ihren häufigsten Sujets. Die sitzende Mutter bildet eine bildnerische Einheit mit dem Kleinkind auf ihrem Schoß, das kühle, vielfältig nuancierte Inkarnat und die Blautöne der Kleidung unterstreichen diese Verbundenheit noch. Das nach unten abgewandte Gesicht der Mutter und der ernste Blick ihres Kindes schließen jegliche Sentimentalität aus, darstellerische Details wie die Tupfen auf der Bluse und das durch die weißen Gardinen schimmernde Fensterkreuz verorten die Szenerie mitten im Leben.
Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Ansicht von Avignon. Verso: Mutter mit Kind
Oil on canvas. 72 x 80 cm resp. 80 x 72 cm (visible dimensions). 89.4 x 78.4 cm (total canvas dimensions). Framed. Signed 'Muter' in blue lower left. Signed 'Muter' in grey lower left verso. - In fine condition with fresh colours. Small losses of paint in margin areas.

The verso view is documented in the Photographic Archive of Galeria Bargera, Cologne.

Provenance
Galerie Bargera, Cologne; Private collection, Rhineland

This double-sided painting unites two disciplines mastered by Mela Muter: landscape and portrait.
In 1940 the war drove Mela Muter to flee from Paris to southern France, where she lived in Avignon part of the time and created striking views of the city. This magnificent panorama captures its spatial context from an elevated vantage point and shows the historic city in a warm atmosphere flooded with light. The olive trees and simple residential buildings in the foreground lead us to the two arms of the Rhône. To the right in the middle ground, on the near riverbank, rises the silhouette of the Tour Philippe-le-Bel, which once marked the border between the Kingdom of France and the Papal Territory of Avignon. The ruin of the Pont Saint-Bénézet can be recognised above the second arm of the river; the town’s medieval core stretches out behind it, crowned by the monumental walls and towers of the papal palace. Muter mastered the depiction of this complex, many-layered landscape; organic natural forms and the cubic contours of buildings merge into a harmonious unity. The use of warm tones of white and ochre that seem to reflect the sun as well as the accents in fresh blue and red are characteristic of her views from southern France.
The artist’s emotional connection with the theme of motherhood becomes clear in the double portrait on the other side. Depictions of women with their children, often from the most modest social classes, are among her most common subjects. The seated mother forms a single compositional unit with the small child on her lap, and the cool, nuanced variety of flesh tones as well as the blue tones of the clothing further underscore this bond. The mother’s downturned face and the earnest gaze of her child exclude any kind of sentimentality; representational details like the dots on the blouse and the cross window shimmering through the white curtains situate the scene in the midst of life.
Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Ansicht von Avignon. Verso: Mutter mit Kind
Öl auf Leinwand. 72 x 80 cm bzw. 80 x 72 cm (Sichtmaß). 89,4 x 78,4 cm (Gesamtmaß Leinwand). Beidansichtig gerahmt in Klapprahmen. Unten links blau signiert 'Muter'. Rückseitig unten links grau signiert 'Muter'. - In farbfrischer Erhaltung. Kleine Farbverluste in den Randbereichen.

Die rückseitige Ansicht ist im Fotoarchiv der Galerie Bargera, Köln, dokumentiert.

Provenienz
Galerie Bargera, Köln; Privatsammlung Rheinland

In diesem doppelansichtigen Gemälde vereinen sich die beiden Meisterdisziplinen Mela Muters: die Landschaft und das Bildnis.
1940 floh Mela Muter vor dem Krieg aus Paris nach Südfrankreich und lebte teils in Avignon, wo sie eindrucksvolle Ansichten der Stadt schuf. Dieses prachtvolle Panorama erfasst die räumliche Situation von einem erhöhten Standpunkt aus und zeigt die geschichtsträchtige Stadt in einer warmen, lichtdurchfluteten Atmosphäre. Olivenbäume und einfache Wohngebäude im Vordergrund leiten über zu den beiden Flussarmen der Rhône. Rechts im Mittelgrund ragt am diesseitigen Ufer die Silhouette des Tour Philippe-le-Bel auf, der einst die Grenze zwischen dem Königreich Frankreich und dem päpstlichen Territorium von Avignon kennzeichnete. Über dem zweiten Flussarm ist die Ruine der Pont Saint-Bénézet zu erkennen, dahinter erstreckt sich der mittelalterliche Stadtkern von Avignon, gekrönt von den monumentalen Mauern und Türmen des Papstpalastes. Muter beherrschte die Schilderung dieser komplexen, vielfach gestaffelten Landschaft meisterhaft, organische Naturformen und kubische Gebäudeumrisse gehen eine harmonische Einheit ein. Charakteristisch für ihre südfranzösischen Ansichten ist die Verwendung von warmen Weiß- und Ockertönen, die die Sonne zu reflektieren scheinen, akzentuiert von frischem Blau und Rot.
Die emotionale Verbundenheit der Künstlerin mit dem Thema der Mutterschaft wird in dem umseitigen Doppelporträt deutlich. Darstellungen von Frauen mit ihren Kindern, oft aus einfachsten Gesellschaftsschichten, gehören zu ihren häufigsten Sujets. Die sitzende Mutter bildet eine bildnerische Einheit mit dem Kleinkind auf ihrem Schoß, das kühle, vielfältig nuancierte Inkarnat und die Blautöne der Kleidung unterstreichen diese Verbundenheit noch. Das nach unten abgewandte Gesicht der Mutter und der ernste Blick ihres Kindes schließen jegliche Sentimentalität aus, darstellerische Details wie die Tupfen auf der Bluse und das durch die weißen Gardinen schimmernde Fensterkreuz verorten die Szenerie mitten im Leben.

Evening Sale - Modern and Contemporary Art

Sale Date(s)
Lots: 98
Venue Address
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Köln
50667
Germany

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Evening Sale - Modern and Contemporary Art

Evening Sale - Moderne und Zeitgenössische Kunst

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