Lot 153: Manfred Bluth, Collection of 7 Lithographs, Germany, 1950s

This collection of seven lithographs was made by German artist Manfred Bluth. Each work depicts an abstract composition, whose partially imaginative titles however cause direct connotations and images. The pictures consist of geometric structures and lines that are in parts executed in vibrant reds, greens or blues. In the 1950s, Bluth was especially inspired by the surrealistic pieces of Max Ernst, which is evident in some of those lithographs.

Four of the works are titled ‘Partielle Sonnenfinsternis über “Timbuktu“‘ [Partial solar eclipse in Timbuktu], ‘Ein Prophet Zum Ersten Mal das Gelobte Land Erschauend!‘ [A prophet catching sight of the Holy Land for the first time], ‘Ein Barbar Voller Staunen Einen Glaskasten in Madame DuPoints Wachsfigurenkabinett Betrachtend‘ [A barbarian admiring a showcase in the wax figure cabinet of Madame Du Points] and ‘Deux Figures‘. Dates, too, can be found on four lithographs ‘20.IX.50’, ‘15.XI.50’, ‘21.IX.50’ and ‘1.XII.50’. Five pieces are signed in pencil ‘Bluth’ as well as numbered ‘1/5’, ‘4/5’, ‘1/10’, ‘1/10’ and ‘1/3’. The image dimensions measure around 45 x 33 cm, while the sheet dimensions are 38.9 x 48 cm, 41.1 x 50.4 cm, 42.5 x 52.3 cm, 47 x 35.2 cm, 53.3 x 36.6 cm and 55.6 x 43.7 cm.

Manfred Bluth (1926-2002)
Manfred Bluth was born and raised in Berlin and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin from 1942 until the end of 1943. After the war, he commenced his studies at the Academy in Munich where he was taught by Willie Geiger. After a stay in Paris, he returned to Berlin in 1951 where he became director of exhibitions at the Amerika Haus Berlin from 1953-68. During this time he was inspired by the surrealistic works of Max Ernst. In 1955 he was awarded the art prize Young Generation of the city of Berlin. Until his death in 2002, he traveled the world and visited places like Southern Spain, the US, Northern Africa or Tuscany and his works were on display in various national and international exhibitions like Sydney, Paris, Pittsburgh, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. Bluth’s artworks are owned by many museums, for example by the Museum of the University Cincinnati/Ohio, the Stadtgeschichtliche Museum of Nuremberg and the Stuttgart State Gallery as well as by the National Gallery in Berlin and the Museum of Berlin. (nlu)

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