Emilio Vedova *
(Venice 1919–2006)
Emerging ’83 (A Bruno Taut), 1983, signed, dated and titled on the reverse, inscribed on the stretcher, acrylic, enamel, sand and vinavil on canvas, 204.3 x 199.1 cm, framed
This work is registered in the Archivio Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova Venice, and is accompanied by a photo certificate of authenticity.
Provenance:
Springer Gallery, Berlin
Christie’s Milan, 30 May 2000, Lot 382
European Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)
Exhibited:
Venice, Ala Napoleonica, Museo Correr, Magazzino del Sale 266 alle Zattere, Vedova 1935 - 1984, 12 May - 30 September 1984, exh. cat. p. 259, no. 226 with ill.
Dedicated to Bruno Taut, the pioneering German architect and urban planner of the Weimar era—celebrated for his visionary use of color and his commitment to social housing—this work by Emilio Vedova, executed in 1983, embodies not only the artist’s characteristic expressive force but also his deep affinity for architecture. It reflects his ability to merge painting with architectural space, transforming the act of painting into a dynamic, constructive energy.
Strongly influenced by the Venetian Baroque tradition, particularly by Tintoretto, Vedova’s work transcends the limits of the canvas, opening a dialogue with light, environment, and spatial context.
The compelling trajectory of Bruno Taut’s life, which came to an abrupt end in Turkey in 1938, must have held a particular fascination for Vedova. From Taut's years in Russia during the rise of Hitler’s dictatorship and a time of economic instability, to his difficult return to Berlin in the early 1930s, followed by his moves to Japan—a country he deeply admired for its culture and aesthetic sensibility—and finally to Turkey, his journey reflects a life shaped by displacement, resilience, and enduring creative vision.
By looking at “Emerging - A Bruno Taut” by Emilio Vedova, the image of Taut’s Glaspavilion and its triangular shape comes to mind. A fundamental chapter not only in Bruno Taut’s work, but more broadly in the history of twentieth-century architecture, the Glaspavillon was erected in Cologne, in the Ruhr region, in 1914 in occasion of the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition. This event, aimed at “ennobling industrial labor,” sought to bridge the gap between architecture and the applied arts through the creation of buildings distinguished by a high level of craftsmanship.
The pavilion was designed by Bruno Taut—then thirty-four years old and still relatively unknown—and Franz Hoffmann. The two architects financed the project themselves, without having been invited by the leading figures or the official organizers of the Werkbund, and furthermore placed it in a marginal location within the exhibition.
Held in the same private collection for over twenty-five years, Emerging -A Bruno Taut, is now offered at auction. Executed in 1983, the work captures Emilio Vedova’s artistic energy, “shifted onto the axis of aquatic and terrestrial horizontality, as it flows and propagates through waves and disturbances, striking across every latitude, fracturing the depth of images and materials, and generating continuous deformations and displacements”
( Germano Celant, Arcipelago Vedova, p. 15, Vedova 1935-1984 exhibition catalogue, 1984.)
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(Venice 1919–2006)
Emerging ’83 (A Bruno Taut), 1983, signed, dated and titled on the reverse, inscribed on the stretcher, acrylic, enamel, sand and vinavil on canvas, 204.3 x 199.1 cm, framed
This work is registered in the Archivio Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova Venice, and is accompanied by a photo certificate of authenticity.
Provenance:
Springer Gallery, Berlin
Christie’s Milan, 30 May 2000, Lot 382
European Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)
Exhibited:
Venice, Ala Napoleonica, Museo Correr, Magazzino del Sale 266 alle Zattere, Vedova 1935 - 1984, 12 May - 30 September 1984, exh. cat. p. 259, no. 226 with ill.
Dedicated to Bruno Taut, the pioneering German architect and urban planner of the Weimar era—celebrated for his visionary use of color and his commitment to social housing—this work by Emilio Vedova, executed in 1983, embodies not only the artist’s characteristic expressive force but also his deep affinity for architecture. It reflects his ability to merge painting with architectural space, transforming the act of painting into a dynamic, constructive energy.
Strongly influenced by the Venetian Baroque tradition, particularly by Tintoretto, Vedova’s work transcends the limits of the canvas, opening a dialogue with light, environment, and spatial context.
The compelling trajectory of Bruno Taut’s life, which came to an abrupt end in Turkey in 1938, must have held a particular fascination for Vedova. From Taut's years in Russia during the rise of Hitler’s dictatorship and a time of economic instability, to his difficult return to Berlin in the early 1930s, followed by his moves to Japan—a country he deeply admired for its culture and aesthetic sensibility—and finally to Turkey, his journey reflects a life shaped by displacement, resilience, and enduring creative vision.
By looking at “Emerging - A Bruno Taut” by Emilio Vedova, the image of Taut’s Glaspavilion and its triangular shape comes to mind. A fundamental chapter not only in Bruno Taut’s work, but more broadly in the history of twentieth-century architecture, the Glaspavillon was erected in Cologne, in the Ruhr region, in 1914 in occasion of the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition. This event, aimed at “ennobling industrial labor,” sought to bridge the gap between architecture and the applied arts through the creation of buildings distinguished by a high level of craftsmanship.
The pavilion was designed by Bruno Taut—then thirty-four years old and still relatively unknown—and Franz Hoffmann. The two architects financed the project themselves, without having been invited by the leading figures or the official organizers of the Werkbund, and furthermore placed it in a marginal location within the exhibition.
Held in the same private collection for over twenty-five years, Emerging -A Bruno Taut, is now offered at auction. Executed in 1983, the work captures Emilio Vedova’s artistic energy, “shifted onto the axis of aquatic and terrestrial horizontality, as it flows and propagates through waves and disturbances, striking across every latitude, fracturing the depth of images and materials, and generating continuous deformations and displacements”
( Germano Celant, Arcipelago Vedova, p. 15, Vedova 1935-1984 exhibition catalogue, 1984.)
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
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