2. April 58, Julius Bissier
Julius Bissier
2. April 58
DE
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Julius Bissier

2. April 58, 1958


Dimensions
19.0 x 25.3 cm
Physical Description
Egg oil tempera on canvas
Inventory Number
2540
Acquisition
Acquired in 2019 as a bequest from Ulrike Crespo from the Karl Ströher Collection
Status
Not on display

Texts

About the Work

Julius Bissier developed his miniatures in the 1950s, first in the watercolour medium and later as small-scale paintings on organic materials. Taking figural painting as his point of departure, he had turned to abstract art in the 1930s. He was in close contact with Willi Baumeister and also studied non-European—particularly East Asian—art. Occupying a realm between symbolism and abstraction, his fragmentary, reductive compositions testify to that development. Bearing merely their dates of execution as titles, they defy unequivocal interpretation. What stands out most is their serial and nevertheless quasi-personal character.

About the Acquisition

The Städel Museum has the photographer, psychotherapist, philanthropist, and long-time Frankfurt resident Ulrike Crespo (1950–2019) to thank for more than ninety works ranging from classical modernism to American pop art. The paintings, drawings, and prints by Wassily Kandinsky, Otto Dix, Oskar Schlemmer, Max Ernst, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly, and others originally belonged to the holdings of her grandfather, the Darmstadt-based industrialist Karl Ströher (1890–1977), who amassed an extensive art collection after World War II.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
2. April 58 (Original Title)
Title Translation
2. April 58
Artist
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Egg oil tempera on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert und datiert oben rechts (mit dem Pinsel in Braun): Jules Bissier / 2. April / 58; datiert oben links (mit Bleistift): 2. April / 58

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
© Archivio Bissier
Acquisition
Acquired in 2019 as a bequest from Ulrike Crespo from the Karl Ströher Collection

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif

Iconclass

Primary
  • 0 Abstract, Non-representational Art
  • 49D33 triangle (~ planimetry, geometry)
  • 49D3221 irregularly curved line
Secondary

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
...
Karl Ströher (1890-1977), Darmstadt
Nachlass Karl Ströher, 1977
an seine Enkelin Ulrike Crespo (1950-2019), Frankfurt am Main
Vermächtnis an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 2019.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

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Last update

24.11.2023