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Oil on canvas Germany, 1939 Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-1968) - German painter and illustrator Signed and dated lower left 'E-W Nay 39' Verso numbered on the canvas '70/47' and '36' Catalogue raisonné: no. 277 2002 / 2003 part of the Nay retrospective as D 24 Overall dimensions, framed: 61 x 86.5 cm Dimensions of the stretcher frame: 47,5 x 70 cm Good condition Provenance: from a distinguished private collection in Berlin A dynamic scene illustrating the transition from Nay's figurative painting to abstraction; Ernst Wilhelm Nay is a fixed star in the international auction firmament - the current auction record stands at more than 900,000 euros for one of his artworks This oil painting by Ernst Wilhelm Nay was created in 1939. It belongs to a series of art works, inspired by a stay at the Baltic Sea, which show human figures by the sea and in the landscape. The work depicts a group of women on the beach. The artist portrayed the women in a primitive, almost paradisiacal existence. Nude, they seem to dance across the canvas, in harmony with the nature that surrounds them. With quick, free brushstrokes the colours are applied in a solid manner, the result is a flowing dynamism, a rhythm that characterises most of the artist's works. Like in all of Nay's paintings the interplay of colour is an essential theme; shades of red, green and blue set accentuations amongst the flesh-colour shapes that fill the image area to the edges. The influences of Cézanne and Matisse are only visible to some extent; here Nay had already established his very own language of colour and form. This pre-war painting holds a central position within Nay's oeuvre because it wonderfully illustrates the artist's transition from figurative representation to complete abstraction, which he reached with his well-known 'Scheibenbilder' in the 1950s. In 2002 and 2003, the work 'Badende Frauen' was on display in the exhibition 'E. W. Nay - Variationen', a retrospective on the occasion of the artist's 100th birthday, at the Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung in Munich - see photo of the catalogue entry. In the catalogue raisonné the painting is numbered 277. The painting by Ernst Wilhelm Nay is in good, original condition, the canvas is not relined. There is only minor craquelure here and there. The painting comes in a remarkable root wood frame with a goldcoloured outer bordure. The latter shows slight signs of age and wear. Framed, the work measures 61 x 86.5 cm. The stretcher measures 47.5 x 70 cm. On the back the canvas is numbered '70/47' and '36', the latter number refers to Nay's studio display of 1940. The work is signed and dated lower left 'E-W Nay 39'. Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-1968) Ernst Wilhelm Nay was born in Berlin in 1902. He started training in the book trade, but discontinued his apprenticeship to devote himself to painting. With three of his paintings, he introduced himself to Karl Hofer in 1924 and was thus accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, where he graduated as a master student of Hofer. Stays in Paris, Rome and Bornholm followed. On the Baltic Sea, in the summers of 1935 and 1936, he created his well-known series of paintings depicting dunes and fishermen. Thereafter he visited Norway at the invitation of Edvard Munch and the Lofoten Islands. During the Nazi regime Nays works were considered 'degenerate art' - he could only paint in secret and was prohibited from acquiring materials. After the war, the artist moved to Cologne and completely dedicated himself to abstract painting. Nay's work cannot be assigned to any art movement, his oeuvre is characterised by strongly dissociated creative phases. He was primarily known for his colourful, abstract 'Scheibenbilder' [disk images], a creative period that started around 1954. In the following years he took part in three documenta exhibitions as well as the Venice Biennale and thus succeeded in establishing himself internationally. Ernst Wilhelm Nay is one of the most important representatives of classical modernism in Germany. Today his works can be found in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Museum Folkwang in Essen and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.