29th Jun, 2021 14:00

19th & 20th Century Paintings and Works on Paper

 
  Lot 7 §
 

MARIE-LOUISE VON MOTESICZKY (AUSTRIAN 1906-1996)

Property from the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust

MARIE-LOUISE VON MOTESICZKY (AUSTRIAN 1906-1996)
Fiesta
signed with initials and dated M.M.67. (upper right)
oil on canvas, unframed
75.7 x 65.2 cm (29 7/8 x 25 3/4 in)

EXHIBITED:
Munich, Galerie Günther Franke, Marie-Louise Motesiczky, 1967, no. 57 (ex-catalogue)

LITERATURE:
R. Vorderwülbecke, Marie-Louise von Motesiczky, on how to re-establish the stature of a late artist within the art market, MA thesis, Sotheby's Institute, London, 1999, pp. 42 & 98, illustrated
I. Schlenker, Marie-Louise von Motesiczky 1906-1996, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, New York, 2009, p. 358, no. 207, illustrated

The present depiction of a larger than life androgynous dancer, surrounded by a rich cast of characters - young and old, small and large - is one of Motesiczky's most ambitious compositions. Incorporating some twelve figures, it draws first and foremost on the artist's memories of her trip to Spain the previous summer. But the flamboyant subject matter and Marie-Louise's poetic license with proportions clearly reflects her years in Germany, the formative influence of Max Beckmann on her art, and exposure to the Expressionism of such painters as George Grosz and Otto Dix.

The juxtaposition of a uniformed marching dwarf brandishing a sabre, with a Madonna-like mother and child on the left, balanced with a huddled group of children cowering lower right, a figure brandishing a fork, and a musician apparently playing the harp beyond suggests that order has descended into chaos. As Schlenker comments, such a mix is 'At odds with the apparently joyous occasion... Although it is difficult to interpret and make sense of the individual scenes, the inherent danger, subtle threat and indefinable sinister undertones of the painting are inexplicably palpable' (Schlenker p. 358).

The work was the culmination of two earlier essays on the theme (Schlenker nos. 208 & 209), and preparatory works on paper (e.g. Schlenker fig. 162). Schlenker notes that Motesiczky recorded her struggle to complete the work in her diary: 'Today I want to finish the picture of the Spanish dancer. Will it really work - as Pio [Elias Canetti] thinks?' Schlenker added: 'Despite the artist's doubts, on completion, the painting was immediately included in her Munich exhibition that autumn.'

Sold for £3,250

Includes Buyer's Premium


 

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