Lot 23: Paul Fuhrmann

Paul Fuhrmann (1893 Spandau b. Berlin - 1952 Berlin). Schönheitskönigin. Um 1930 Oil on cardboard. Monogrammed lower left. Signed, barely legibly dated and titled as well as with inscription by the artist's wife on the reverse.76,5 x 55,5 cm (30,1 x 21,8 in). The artist's wife later dated the painting 'um 1926' on the reverse. This date is - however - imprecise, as a corresponding pencil drawing is dated 'März 1930' (cf. exhibition cat. Galerie am Sachsenplatz, p. 20). [KR]Provenienz: Private collection South Germany (acquired by the previous owner from the Galerie am Sachsenplatz, Leipzig, in 1976). Ausstellung: Paul Fuhrmann. Malerei, Aquarelle, Druckgrafik und Zeichnungen aus der 'Sturm-Zeit', Galerie am Sachsenplatz, Leipzig, 7 February - 3 March 1976, p. 20, cat.no. 09. Shaped by what he had experienced in WWI, the young Paul Fuhrmann developed a strong social commitment that would inform his work for the rest of his life. His 'Schönheitskönigin' ['Beauty Queen'], an extremely attractive composition, conveys biting criticism of the commercialisation of human beings.Along with Karl Holtz, Fuhrmann took part in the revolutionary unrest in Berlin and joined forces with Oskar Nerlinger in the group called 'Die Zeitgemäßen' ['The Moderns']. Fuhrmann joined the KPD and, as a member of it, was also in the ASSO [Assoziation revolutionärer bildender Künstler]. No sooner had Hitler came to power in 1933 than Fuhrmann was forbidden to practise his profession and exhibit his work. Works by Fuhrmann were among those to have the honour of being shown at the notorious exhibitions of 'Degenerate Art' mounted by the regime between 1933 and 1938.Since almost all of Fuhrmann's works were inaccessible to a broader public in the GDR after the war, it is high time to rediscover this important socially critical artist.In good condition. Edges partly minimally rubbed, with minor colour losses at points. A small trace of rubbing with colour loss upper right, partially retouched. A tiny retouching on the image centre. Isolated scattered brown spots.