Untitled (head), Sigmar Polke
Sigmar Polke
Untitled (head)
DE
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Sigmar Polke

Untitled (head), ca. 1967 – 1968


Blatt
295 x 210 mm
Physical Description
Watercolour on thin wove paper
Inventory Number
SG 3397
Object Number
SG 3397 Z
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

Rather than taking full advantage of the medium’s painterly qualities – as artists like Emil Nolde or Ernst Wilhelm Nay had done –, Sigmar Polke worked primarily with graphic lines in this watercolour drawing. He constructed an abstract face from loosely assembled, sometimes intersecting straight lines, acute angles and soft curves. The result is reminiscent of the constructive and rhythmic compositions of classical modern art. Polke supplemented these elements with a few three-dimensionally worked forms as well as a grid and a group of small dots.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Untitled (head)
Draughtsman
Period Produced
Object Type
Physical Description
Watercolour on thin wove paper
Material
Technique
Geographic Reference
Production Reason
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Nicht bezeichnet
Captions Added Later
Verso unten links Stempel der Städtischen Galerie, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2371c), mit zugehöriger Inventarnummer
Watermark
  • Nicht vorhanden

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
© The Estate Sigmar Polke, Cologne / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 0 Abstract, Non-representational Art

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Kunsthandel Deutschland
verkauft an die Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, 1989.

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

08.12.2023