Lot 198. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Sitzende im rosafarbenen Kleid. Verso: Männliches Portrait. Oil on panel. 73 x 49.7 cm. Framed. Signed ‘Muter’ verso in blue upper right. – In excellent condition, very light marginal defects. Provenance: Galerie Marek, Paris; private collection, Vienna. Sold 65,000 euro
The Polish-French painter Mela Muter was a superb portraitist. In addition to works commissioned by France’s celebrities, including Georges Clemenceau, Romain Rolland, Diego Rivera and Ambroise Vollard, Muter also created numerous images depicting members of the simple, rural populace. With dark outlines, a muted palette and visible brushwork, she succeeded in reflecting the character of her sitters: “That is why I had to project myself into my model”, she writes, “Make contact with them. I had to fully grasp them and then paint them. […] I had a vision of how the picture needed to look, and I preserved this idea until the portrait was complete” (cited in Mela Muter, exh. cat. Köln 1967, p. 14).
In the 1920s Muter’s work was regularly presented at the exhibitions of the Salon d’Automne as well as the Salon des Indépendants and she experienced her first commercial successes. The portrait here, “Sitzende im rosafarbenen Kleid” was probably created during this period or shortly thereafter. Muter has captured the young woman seated on a simple chair inside an interior featuring a stone floor and a window. She is wearing a plain pink dress, whose colour corresponds to that of the flower as well as the terracotta tiles. The focus is on the depiction of the head, with its curly brown hair and fine facial features. The young woman gazes alertly out of the picture and to the left. Because of the vigorous, post-impressionist brushwork and the warm palette, she generates a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. The man with a straw hat and khaki-coloured shirt portrayed on the reverse side is shown before a scene featuring a bridge in the south of France. Estimate 40,000 – 50,000 euro. Lempertz. 12/02/23
Seria pięciu prac Meli Muter z niemieckiego Lempertz.
Lot 199. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Vieux Paris. Oil on canvas. 81 x 65 cm. Framed. Signed ‘Muter’ in black lower right. Verso titled “rue de Paris” on stretcher in pencil. Typewritten “No 19 Mela Muter Vieux Paris 253” on old, red-bordered paper label and inscribed “F 20”. – On an old stretcher. Few inconspicuous losses of paint. Provenance: Galerie Bargera, Cologne; private collection, Switzerland. Estimate 25,000 – 30,000 euro. Sold 65,000 euro
Lot 200. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Straßenszene mit Bäumen. Watercolour, gouache and pen and ink on wove paper. 35.5 x 26 cm. Framed under glass. Signed ‘Muter’ in pen and ink lower right. – The sheet slightly browned. With few tiny circular minuscule holes. Provenance: Estate of the artist; Galerie Bargera, Cologne; private collection, Switzerland. Estimate 3,000 – 4,000 euro. Sold 2,400 euro
Lot 201. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Landschaft mit Bäumen. Watercolour on wove paper with watermark “Arches”. 35.5 x 51/50.5 cm. Framed under glass. Signed ‘MUTER’ in black lower right – Two tiny circular holes at lower margin. Foxing in parts. Provenance: Galerie Bargera, Cologne (1980s); private collection, Berlin. Estimate 3,000 – 5,000 euro. Sold 2,800 euro
Lot 202. Mela Muter (Maria Melania Mutermilch), Boote am Hafen. Watercolour on wove paper with watermark “Arches”. 36 x 51 cm. Framed under glass. Signed ‘Muter’ in black lower right. – Drawing pin holes in the corners. Provenance: Galerie Bargera, Cologne (1980s); private ownership, Berlin. Estimate 3,000 – 5,000 euro. Sold 4,600 euro
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