Max Austermann Sold at Auction Prices

Max Austermann (1872 Dorsten - 1941) - Blumenstillleben

Max Austermann (1872 Dorsten - 1941) Flower still life, oil on canvas, 99 cm x 66 cm, signed, dated 1936, inscribed with the location 'Münster', slight craquelure, minor losses of pigment Max Austermann was a teacher for many years at the Städtische Gewerbliche Fortbildungsschule in Hagen, from which the Folkwang School of Painting emerged. In the practical instructional booklets "Kunst- und Plakatschrift" (Art and Poster Calligraphy) or "Farbenharmonie für die Praxis" (Colour Harmony in Practice), he presented his art theoretical approaches in an understandable and easy-to-follow manner. He was also a member of the Deutscher Werkbund, an association of artists, architects and entrepreneurs founded in 1907 with the aim of reforming art and handicrafts in the spirit of modern industrial design. His connections to the Werkbund certainly helped him place six of his Hagen students at the Bauhaus. He was close friends with the painter Christian Rohlfs and also owned several of his paintings. Rohlfs once wrote about his works: "They are of stormy liveliness and imagination. Some as if caught on the fly. Strangely, the drawing is always determined and clear. It probably means he works day and night, if Mr. Austermann is able to make such things in addition to his teaching profession." Austermann's few surviving paintings are characterized by their vivid palette, no doubt due to his preoccupation with colour theory. In this still life, for example, the juxtaposition of lush green with fiery orange and magenta tones evokes an impression of immediacy and vivid dynamism.