Two People, Erich Heckel
Erich Heckel
Two People
DE
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Erich Heckel

Two People, 1910


Blatt
645 x 479 mm
Druckstock
374 x 321 mm
Physical Description
Woodcut on laid paper 2nd state (of 2)
Inventory Number
65873
Object Number
65873 D
Acquisition
Acquired in 1948 as a donation from the heirs of the Carl Hagemann estate
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

Heckel rendered Adam and Eve with sparse, angular contours: their movements seem awkward, their faces almost coarse. Near-abstract forms are all that allude to the paradise from which the first human couple will be driven. The trees and bushes in the foreground have been cut into the wood like forceful pastose brushstrokes.

About the Acquisition

From 1900 onwards, the Frankfurt chemist and industrialist Carl Hagemann (1867‒1940) assembled one of the most important private collections of modern art. It included numerous paintings, drawings, watercolours and prints, especially by members of the artist group “Die Brücke”. After Carl Hagemann died in an accident during the Second World War, the then Städel director Ernst Holzinger arranged for Hagemann’s heirs to evacuate his collection with the museum’s collection. In gratitude, the family donated almost all of the works on paper to the Städel Museum in 1948. Further donations and permanent loans as well as purchases of paintings and watercolours from the Hagemann estate helped to compensate for the losses the museum had suffered in 1937 as part of the Nazi’s “Degenerate Art” campaign. Today, the Hagemann Collection forms the core of the Städel museum’s Expressionist collection.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Two People
Artist
Period Produced
Object Type
Physical Description
Woodcut on laid paper 2nd state (of 2)
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert und datiert unterhalb der Darstellung rechts (mit Bleistift): ErichHeckel 10
Captions Added Later
Betitelt unten links (mit Bleistift): 2 Menschen; bezeichnet unten rechts: 207.
Verso bezeichnet: 8 DrHagemann / 207.
Verso Stempel des Städelschen Kunstinstituts, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2356), mit zugehöriger Inventarnummer
Watermark
  • Nicht vorhanden
Work Catalogues
  • Dube H. 202 II (von II)

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
© Nachlass Erich Heckel, Hemmenhofen; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024
Acquisition
Acquired in 1948 as a donation from the heirs of the Carl Hagemann estate

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre

Iconclass

Primary
  • 31A the (nude) human figure; 'Corpo humano' (Ripa)
  • 31D14 adult man
  • 31AA the (nude) human figure; 'Corpo humano' (Ripa) - AA - female human figure
  • 31D15 adult woman
Secondary
Associative
  • 11I62(ADAM) Adam (not in biblical context)
  • 11I63(EVE) Eve (not in biblical context)
  • 71A35 Adam and Eve in paradise (before the Fall)

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Graphisches Kabinett, Düsseldorf
Carl Hagemann (1867-1940), Leverkusen, 1916
Nachlass Carl Hagemann, Frankfurt am Main, 1940
Schenkung der Erben an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1948.

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.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the museum at .

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Last update

25.04.2024