Albert Birkle Lot n° 30

Albert Birkle Merlin 1921 Tempera on linen textured cardboard. 91 x 60.5 cm. Framed under glass. - Laminated on wood. - In good, freshly colored condition. Few retouchings. We thank Roswita and Viktor Pontzen, Archiv und Werkbetreuung Albert Birkle, Salzburg, for their scientific advice. The work is listed in the internal catalog of works under the number 101. Provenance Private property Berlin, 1920s; Galerie Ambiente, Freiburg, 1995; Galerie Dr. Sternat, Vienna, 1996/97; Galerie Weilinger, Salzburg, 1999; private collection Austria, until 2008; at the Kinsky, Vienna, auction 70, October 14, 2008, lot 379; private collection Exhibitions Berlin 1922 (Verein Berliner Künstler im Berliner Künstlerhaus in Bellevuestraße), Spring Exhibition 1922; London 2019 (Tate Modern), Magic Realism. Art in Weimar Germany 1919-33, with ill. p. 86 ("The Hermit"). Literature Cf. Silvia Kraker, Albert Birkle, Phil.diss., Innsbruck 1992, cat. No. 722 (charcoal drawing with the same motif and dimensions, titled "Merlin II"). In the early 1920s, Albert Birkle created several crucifixion scenes that depict horror par excellence in an exaggerated, surreal mode of representation. Elongated, emaciated bodies, grimacing faces and a garish coloration make the model of Matthias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece abundantly clear in these biblical scenes. Birkle used a similarly mannerist pictorial language in the present mysterious scene. Merlin as an old man is depicted naked and kneeling in the middle of a dense forest, which is intersected by a fast flowing stream, a deer rests its head trustingly in his lap. Despite the color and formal affinity to the crucifixions, however, the morbid, tortured effect is missing here; rather, a certain harmony and tranquility characterize the scene. The man and the nature surrounding him form a unity, the overlong, lean limbs of man and animal corresponding with the gnarled branches. A magical, pale green light, which seems to emanate from the stream, illuminates the forest; the resulting, undercooled yellow-green and gray-blue coloration is softened and, as it were, warmed by isolated red-brown areas. In this early work, Albert Birkle shows not only his affinity for enigmatic-surreal subjects, but also his extraordinary expressiveness and intensity, which characterizes his entire subsequent oeuvre.