ALFRED KUBIN* (Leitmeritz 1877 - 1959 Wernstein am Inn)carni...

Estimate

€7,000 - €10,000

ALFRED KUBIN*
(Leitmeritz 1877 - 1959 Wernstein am Inn)
carnival
watercolor and indian ink/paper, 24.5 x 31.5 cm
signed A Kubin
provenance: private collection Vienna

ESTIMATE °€ 7.000 - 10.000
STARTING PRICE °€ 7.000

Regarding the pictured work "Carnival" by Alfred Kubin:
Thankfully, Ferdinand Altnöder drew our attention to the fact that Alfred Kubin's watercolored ink drawing comes from the "Rauhnacht" cycle. According to Altnöder, this unique sheet is the most important work from this group of works.
As early as 1924, after feverish dreams, Kubin had dealt with the topic of “Rauhnacht” and drawn a five-metre-long leporello. A year later the portfolio of the same name was published, consisting of the 13 graphics. In 1931, Kubin made 30 pencil sketches for Richard Billinger's drama "Rauhnacht". The play premiered on October 10, 1931 in the Munich Kammerspiele, directed by Otto Falckenberg. The stage design was designed by Kubin. The performance with Käthe Gold, Ewald Balser and Will Dohm was Billinger's first major success, which was then repeated at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Burgtheater in Vienna and many other stages. Together with Else Laske-Schüler, Billinger received the Kleist Prize for his play; Billinger became one of the most performed authors in the German-speaking world.
In European popular belief, the rough nights are the twelve nights from Christmas Eve to Epiphany, when armies of ghosts move across the earth (see also Shakespeare's comedy "Twelfth Night"). The mixture of pagan and Christian customs on these nights often leads to wild goings-on.


Biography:
In 1898 Kubin went to Munich, studied at the academy with Nikolaus Gysis and continued his education autodidactically. His encounter with the works of Ensor, Klinger, Munch and Redon was decisive. In 1902 Kubin had his first exhibition in Berlin. The poet Max Dauthendey and the collector and publisher Hans von Weber became important patrons. The publication of the Weber-Mappe in 1903 brought the breakthrough. In 1904 Kubin was represented at the Secession exhibition. He met Fritz von Herzmanovsky, with whom he had a lifelong friendship, and established contacts with important Expressionist artists. In 1910, the banned scandalous play by the psychiatrist and writer Oskar Panizza enticed Kubin to illustrate "Das Liebeskonzil," a private print of the "Gesellschaft der Münchner Bibliophilen." In 1912 he began working for the newly founded "Simplicissimus". During the First World War, Kubin occupied himself with psychoanalysis and philosophy. In 1921 he had his first retrospective. He produced lithographs and was also active in literature. Works in magazines and illustrations for literary figures followed. In 1909 he founded the Neue Künstlervereinigung München (N.K.V.M.) together with, among others, Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Adolf Erbslöh, Gabriele Münter, Marianne von Werefkin and Karl Hofer. In 1911, the N.K.V.M. gave rise to the editorial team of the Blauer Reiter, in whose second exhibition, which included only graphic works, Kubin participated in 1912. He illustrated some 60 books, including works by Dostoevsky, Oskar Panizza, Edgar Allan Poe and Elias Canetti Kubin corresponded with Karl Rössing, Hermann Hesse, Hans Fronius and Otto Coester. In the 1920s, on the occasion of literary evenings, he frequented the home of Otto Bamberger, an entrepreneur, art collector and Bauhaus supporter who was a friend of his and who also acquired graphic works by Kubin. From 1930 Kubin was a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. In 1949 he became a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. Kubin was also a member of the Prague Secession. In 1931 Kubin produced the stage design for Richard Billinger's drama Rauhnacht at its premiere in 1931 at the Munich Kammerspiele, directed by Otto Falckenberg. During the National Socialist era, 63 of his works were defamed as "degenerate art" and confiscated. The design of his grave site was created by the sculptor Karl Prantl. In 1955 Kubin bequeathed his estate to the Republic of Austria in his will. After his death, this was divided between the Albertina and the Upper Austrian State Museum. Alfred Kubin was a cousin of the art historian Otto Kletzl.

PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights. In the case of normal taxation (marked °), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax of 13%, for photographys 20%, is added to the sum of the highest bid and the buyer's premium.
The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.