Schütte, Hermann (1893-1973), White Mask on Violet Ground, 1962

Hermann Schütte(1893 Osnabrück - 1973 Hamburg), White Mask on Violet Ground . Enameled copper plate on wooden base, 37 x 29.5 cm, monogrammed and dated "S[chütte] [19]62" in the lower right corner of the fire, inscribed on the reverse (by another hand?) with "Hermann Schütte", titled as "Mask" and dated "1962".

- upper corner slightly creased, otherwise very good condition

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- Mythic mask mountain -

In his late work, Hermann Schütte discovered the enamel technique for his artistic work, thus establishing a genre between painting and sculpture, which at the same time has something architectural about it through the wall-like structure of the background. But because the 'stone offset' runs vertically, the 'wall' is a 'surreal wall'. It is this fantastic dimension that feeds the mysterious effect of the work. The Prussian blue background is related to the unfathomable depth of Yves Klein's blue. The pronounced craquelé created by the firing also gives the blue an organic vibrancy. It seems to have contracted by itself. The resulting cracks reveal the reddish-brown copper underneath, giving the blue a deep ground on which it seems to 'float'.

Above the moving, vibrant blue ground, which nevertheless appears solid because of the stone-like structure, is a mountain-like formation with two eye slits and a nose, revealing itself - as the title suggests - to be a mask. However, this is not a mask that can be put on, it has a life of its own and is thus in the tradition of medieval leaf masks, the most prominent example of which can be seen on the pedestal of the Bamberger Rider (around 1230).

Shaped like a mountain and equipped with its own nose, the mask also displays its own organic liveliness through the gray surfaces, which are also vertically aligned and seem to have grown, which is further intensified by the sand-like ghostly structure of the white surfaces. The fact that the eye openings remain black and thus blind, yet appear deeper in color than the blue, adds to the mysterious dimension of this enigmatic creature.

The white "mountain mask" and the blue ground create a pattern-ground relationship that is ornamentally enlivened by the craquelure. The vibrant blue ground, reminiscent of Babylonian tiles, and the anthropomorphic mountain mask unfold an archaic, fairy-tale dimension that lends depth to the mysterious and at the same time spreads as a surface sheen.

With the yellow monogramand the year in complementary contrast to the blue, the artist inscribes himself in this mystery.

About the artist

Hermann Schütte grew up in the era of the avant-garde and, like so many artists, volunteered for World War I, only to return home a convinced pacifist after the horrors he had witnessed. Inspired by literary expressionism, he wrote the book "Mensch! God! Ich!". Its cover was illustrated by the spiritus rector of the Worpswede artists' colony, Heinrich Vogeler. After becoming friends with Kurt Schwitters, Schütte created sculptures and installations in the spirit of the Dada movement initiated by Schwitters. During the Nazi era, Schütte withdrew into inner emigration, only to return to intense artistic activity after the Second World War.

Since 1948, Schütte has participated in numerous exhibitions, including those at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, in Oldenburg, Bremen, Worpswede, Witten, Bad Soden, Düsseldorf, and Osnabrück. In 1967, his hometown of Osnabrück dedicated a large monographic exhibition to him, in which 120 of his works provided an overview of his oeuvre.

Selected Bibliography

Rabe, Hanns-Gerd (Einleitung): Hermann Schütte. Ölgemälde, Emailbilder, Federzeichnungen. Katalog zur Ausstellung vom 29. Oktober bis 3. Dezember 1967, Städtisches Museum Osnabrück, Osnabrück 1967.