About the Work
In a bluish-black night, black line formations stand out against a greyish, dirty-looking surface, while a crescent moon sinks down towards the low horizon. Two diagonals converging to meet in infinity draw the viewer's gaze to the centre of the picture, where two sweeping horizontals lead it out of the picture again. In the background the soft colour gradients create a velvety depth. The gestural composition of delicate, curving lines resembles a Chinese 'hánzi', but is too abstractly constructed to fit meaningfully into the written language. As one of the main representatives of German Informel, Hans Hartung sought an abstract pictorial language which is as emotional as it is expressive. His work forms an intentional contrast to the constructive-formalistic abstraction of the Bauhaus. For him, the decision against strict geometry and in favour of a lyrically emotional Informel represented a conscious gesture of freedom.
About the Acquisition
In 2010 the Städel Museum in Frankfurt acquired four main works of contemporary German art through a donation by Dorette Hildebrand-Staab. Despite the prevailing opinion at that time, the donor had recognised the significance of Georg Baselitz early on and encouraged and supported the artist for many years. The four paintings donated to the Städel collection had already been purchased by the patron in the 1960s - in part directly from the artist's own private collection.
