Karl Hofer Lot n° 515

Three dancers. Oil on canvas. (19)16. Approx. 68,5 x 46 cm. Monogrammed (ligated) and dated lower left. Inscribed "No. 16 Dancers" on a label on the verso of the stretcher. The present painting was created in 1916, when Karl Hofer was a prisoner of war. The slender bodies of the women are covered with strikingly colourful fabrics, probably a reference to the artist's past journeys to India in 1910 and 1911. The multi-figure composition is one of Hofer's best-known subjects. The painting is characterized by a certain melancholy and lack of relationship between the dancers depicted, which runs through Karl Hofer's entire oeuvre. The work bears a resemblance to El Greco's "The Vision of St. John" from the early 17th century. In the present work, Karl Hofer quotes El Greco's Mannerism in a masterful manner. Just as in the Greek master's work, Hofer dissolves the figures, as it were, and distorts the forms by making the limbs disproportionately long. In this way, he creates a direct link to El Greco and ties in almost seamlessly with his work. Wohlert 296. Exhibition: May Exhibition, Kunsthalle, Basel 1916, Cat.No. 121, with ill. p. 10; Carl Hofer, Erna Pinner (et al.), Kunstsalon Ludwig Schames, Frankfurt/Main 1917, cat. no. 4. Provenance: private property, Dresden; private property, Kreßbronn; private property, Lugano; Stuttgart Kunstkabinett R.N. Ketterer, Stuttgart 1956/1961, lot 365/155, plate 26/159; Karl & Faber, 15.5.1962, lot 1185, with b/w ill. p. 211; Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg 1974, lot 627; Private collection, Northern Germany; Grisebach, Berlin 27.5.1994, lot 30; Grisebach, Berlin 26.5.2000, lot 17; Private collection, Southern Germany. Taxation: differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme)