Lot number 100 - Auction 144
'LANDSCHAFT BEI MONTAGNOLA' (1949/50)

HANS PURRMANN 1880 Speyer - 1966 Basel 'LANDSCAPE NEAR MONTAGNOLA' (1949/50) Oil on canvas. 80 x 67 cm (f. 100 x 86,5 cm). Signed lower right 'H. Purrmann'. Verso: inscr. with old adhesive exhibition label 'Haus der Kunst München', 1962. Minimal colour loss to upper and lower margins. Frame. Literature: Exh.-cat. 'Hans Purrmann', Haus der Kunst, Munich 1962, cat.-no. 72, with b/w ill. Provenance: Until ca. 1962 Collection Dr. Bernhard Sprengel, Hannover; via Galerie Reitzenstein-Seel, Berlin in North Rhine-Westphalian corporate collection since December 1963 (copy of invoice available). After an eventful career that took him from the art centres of Munich and Paris to Florence, the painter Hans Purrmann found his last and perhaps most important creative home in Montagnola in Ticino. The years from 1943 until his death in 1966 were characterised by an intensive exploration of the landscape, flora and southern light, which he captured in his intensely coloured still lifes, portraits and landscape paintings. Purrmann, who initially sought refuge in Italian-speaking Switzerland after fleeing war-torn Europe, settled in Casa Camuzzi, a baroque gem high up on the Collina d'Oro. This house, surrounded by an enchanted garden with turquoise-green shadows and a view of Lake Lugano, was previously the residence of the writer Hermann Hesse. Purrmann not only found a home here, but also an inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration. In his studio with a view of the mountains beyond and the lake, the changing light played a central role. The colourful diversity of the surroundings was reflected in his works. In particular, the contrast between the lush green of the garden and the warm, Mediterranean colours of the Ticino light became a characteristic feature of his painting. For Purrmann, Montagnola meant not only artistic freedom, but also inner peace. In a letter to his friend Johannes Guthmann, he wrote: 'It is so important at our age to feel safe and secure, and I have finally managed to have a flat here where I can have a few nice things around me that I still have left.' This sense of security allowed him to overcome the difficult time of exile and gave him the peace of mind to concentrate fully on his art. His works from this period are characterised by a particular intensity of colour and vibrancy. The turquoise-green shadows of the park, the glittering reflections of the lake and the diversity of the southern vegetation - all of this became a powerful homage to life in Purrmann's paintings. Casa Camuzzi and the surrounding landscape were not only his home, but also a constant source of renewal for his artistic work. Purrmann's Montagnola period marked the high point of his work, during which he masterfully developed his rich colour palette. His paintings from these years are among the most important works of modern painting and are a testimony to the symbiosis between artist and environment that few can match.