Oil on canvas. Monogrammed in the lower right. 80.2 x 60.5 cm.
With a discarded depiction in oil on the reverse. [CH].
- During World War I, the artist produced Expressionist works characterized by strong lines. - During these years, color and its creative power became increasingly significant in the artist’s work. - The physicality of the female figures recedes in favour of the overall color impression. - Similar paintings are now part of major museum collections, including the Brücke Museum and the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Museum Folkwang in Essen, and the Leopold Museum in Vienna.
LITERATURE: Paul Vogt, Christian Rohlfs. Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Recklinghausen 1978, CR no. 573 (illustrated in black and white). - - Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, 478th Auction, Modern Art. 20th-Century Art (Paintings, Sculpture, Watercolors, Drawings, Prints, including the estate of Chichio Haller Trillhaase, Zurich/Düsseldorf), May 26, 1964, lot 565 (illustrated in black and white, plate 7). Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, 202nd auction, part I, 125 ausgewählte Werke des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, June 23, 1989, lot 114 (with full-page color illustration, with the different title “Drei plaudernde Frauen”).

Probably: Neue deutsche Malerei, Kunsthaus Zürich, June 21-July 15, 1934, cat. no. 40 (with a label on the stretcher)

Siegfried Trillhaase Collection, Königswinter. Felicitas “Chichio” Haller Collection, née Trillhaase (1894-1955), Zurich (from the above) Estate of Felicitas “Chichio” Haller, Zurich/Düsseldorf (until 1964, Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne) Private collection, Milan. Private collection. Private collection, Switzerland (acquired in 1989, Galerie Kornfeld, Bern). In possession of the family ever since

A characteristic work with a beautiful, harmonious overall appearance. Shows craquelure, with slight flaking in places. Some minor loss of paint and isolated older retouching (visible under UV light and, in daylight, slightly different in color and texture due to the matte surface), for example along the right edge of the skirt of the woman in the center. Small residues from previous consolidation measures are visible in places (appearing whitish under UV light and light brown-opaque in daylight). The condition report was compiled in daylight with the aid of a UV light source, and to the best of our knowledge and belief.