IMAGE DETAILS

Van Herck-Eykelberg

Georges Vantongerloo (Antwerp 1886-1965 Paris)
Study for Variant 'Curves', 1939
Gouache on paper
17.6 x 17.8 cm
Titled, located, dated, and signed on verso 'Paris 1939'
Provenance: Max Bill Estate; Max Bill-Georges Vantongerloo Foundation Annely Juda Fine Art, London; private collection, New York; Galerie Harold t'Kint de Roodenbeke, Brussels; private collection, Belgium
Literature: Jan Ceuleers, Georges Vantongerloo, Ronny Van de Velde - Pandora, Antwerp, 1996, p. 200; Naum Gabo, Georges Vantongerloo, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart, exh. cat., Annely Juda Fine Art, London, cat. 57 (ill.); Angela Thomas Schmid, Georges Vantongerloo: A Retrospective, exh. cat., Annely Juda Fine Art, London, cat. 59 (ill.)

Georges Vantongerloo (1886-1965) was one of the founding members of De Stijl in 1918 along with Theo Van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, among others. The Antwerp-based artist created sculptures as well as paintings and gouaches and is considered one of the pioneers of abstract art. He was a member of the 'Cercle et Carré' group and founded the Abstraction-Création group in Paris in 1931 to promote abstract art. At first, his abstract works still followed the straight line and angle but from 1937, curves and circles entered Vantongerloo's work. With the curved line, his work becomes more lyrical and playful. Rational volumes and proportions are replaced by lines that reflect an expression of energy.