Franz Radziwill (1895-1983), Haus und Strassenecke (Das Gewitter)

Franz Radziwill (1895-1983)
Haus und Strassenecke (Das Gewitter)
signed with the initials (lower right)
oil on canvas
31 5/8 x 33 ½ in. (80.4 x 85 cm.)
Painted in 1922

Provenance

Dr Wilhelm Niemeyer, by whom acquired directly from the artist, and thence by descent to the present owner.

Art historian, poet and intellectual, Wilhelm Niemeyer was a formidable force within the milieu of the German Avant-Garde in Hamburg. The son of a pastor, Niemeyer was born in Thuringia and went on to pursue his studies in Heidelberg where he read Philosophy, History of Art and History, subsequently pursuing his doctorate in Leipzig which he was awarded in 1903.

Niemeyer would go on to hold academic posts in at the School of Applied Arts in Dusseldorf, thence to Gottingen and Wroclaw, where he pursued a professorship in 1885, later travelling to Florence, where he worked with the Kunsthistorisches Institute. A crucial champion and fierce defender of the German Expressionist movement, Niemeyer was a crucial patron to Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and subsequently, Franz Radziwill.

Christie’s is honoured to present these two exceptional examples from Dr Niemeyer’s collection which have remained within the family since his ownership. These exceptional pieces attest not only to Niemeyer’s critical eye but his friendships and the fierce support he showed for the artists of his time.

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DR WILHELM NIEMEYER, HAMBURG