"Naked Girl"

(1887 Meschede – 1914 at Perthes-lès-Zurlu) "Naked Girl". Originally titled "Skillfully sketched female nude, seated, leaning on right fist and brushing hair from face with left hand." The four years before World War I were the most brilliant in Macke's career, during which several developments in modern art reached their culmination. Dreamy park landscapes and girls became the main motifs for the Expressionist. In 1910, he met Franz Marc, who became a close artistic friend, and in 1911 joined the art group "Der Blaue Reiter," led by Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, participating in its almanac and exhibitions. One of the last highlights of Macke's creative life was a trip to Tunisia, which he took in April 1914 together with Swiss artists Louis Moilliet and Paul Klee, returning with a rich assortment of magnificent watercolors. Pencil/paper. Probably inscribed on the reverse by the artist's widow, Elisabeth Erdmann-Macke, with the artist's notation, title, location Bonn, and date 1911, as well as the estate stamp (Lugt 1775b). On the mount, also in the same hand, with the artist's notation, title, and dating, along with the estate stamp and handwritten number BZ 2.24. Approximately 19.8 cm x 19.4 cm. Framed. Literature: Heiderich, Ursula: August Macke. Drawings. Catalogue Raisonné, Hatje, Stuttgart 1993, p. 358, cat. no. 879. Exhibition: August Macke, on the twentieth anniversary of his death, Galerie von der Heyde, Berlin 1934, catalog no. 46 (?).