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Walter HelbigAdoration of the Magi / - The Rider of the Sun -1918
1918
About the Item
Walter Helbig (1878 Falkenstein - 1968 Ascona), Adoration of the Magi, 1918. Hand-colored linocut, 30 cm x 22.5 cm (depiction), 50 cm x 35 cm (sheet size), signed “W.[alter] Helbig” in pencil lower right, inscribed “Adoration of the Magi” lower left and dated “1918”. Below this a handwritten dedication “with heartfelt Christmas greetings”.
- Paper somewhat darkened and with slight creases, thumbtack holes in the corners
- The Rider of the Sun -
The 'apocalypse' of World War I brought about a return to sacred art. Walter Helbig belonged to the circle of the 'Brücke' and the 'Blauer Reiter'. With his reinterpretation of religious themes in an expressionist formal language, Helbig shaped an avant-garde neo-sacred art. This is symbolically expressed in the silhouette of the rider against the sun-like yellow background. It refers to the awakening initiated by the Blue Riding, which is now linked back to the sacred.
The rider and horse "look" at Mary and the Christ Child, who occupy the entire field. Opposite them are the three kings, the eldest of whom kneels before Christ and offers him a gold-filled casket. The expressionist lines give rise to a tower that rises into the "sun", so that the gift has become a Gothic church, expressing the hope that the fallen world will be resurrected in the name of Christ. This dimension of meaning is emphasized by the magical effect of the color scheme.
About the artist
In 1895, Walter Helbig began studying at the Dresden Academy of Art, where he became friends with the future Brücke artist Otto Müller, with whom he lived in Dresden from 1903 to 1905. While studying in Italy from 1897 to 1899, he met Arnold Böcklin and Adolf von Hildebrand. After completing his studies, he first worked for Otto Gussmann, painting churches. From 1905 to 1909 he worked as a freelance painter in Hamburg. In 1909, through the mediation of Otto Müller, Helbig made the acquaintance of artists from the 'Brücke'. In 1910 he exhibited at the founding exhibition of the Berlin 'Neue Sezession'. In the same year, he moved to Switzerland, where, together with Hans Arp and Oscar Lüthy, he founded the 'Moderne Bund' in Weggis, to which Cuno Amiet and Giovanni Giacometti also belonged. At the second exhibition of the 'Moderne Bund' in Zurich in 1911, Henri Matisse and Robert Delaunay were represented alongside artists from the 'Blauer Reiter'. In 1913, Helbig traveled to Paris with Arp and Lüthy. After the dissolution of the 'Moderne Bund', Helbig was represented at the first Dada exhibition in Zurich in 1914. In 1919, he joined the Berlin 'Novembergruppe'. After the devastation of World War I, Helbig turned increasingly to religious themes in his work. In 1924, like many other artists of his time, he moved to Ascona for financial reasons, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1938. There he founded the artists' association "The Great Bear", to which Marianne von Werefkin also belonged. The group organized annual exhibitions from 1924 to 1940. Helbig also maintained a studio in Berlin until 1933, where he painted portraits of Tilla Durieux, among others. When the Nazis came to power, many of his works were removed from museums as "degenerate art. Helbig's first major solo exhibition took place in Zurich in 1948, and after the Second World War he opened up to current trends in art.
GERMAN VERSION
Walter Helbig (1878 Falkenstein - 1968 Ascona), Anbetung der Könige, 1918. Handkolorierter Linolschnitt, 30 cm x 22,5 cm (Darstellung), 50 cm x 35 cm (Blattgröße), unten rechts in Blei mit „W.[alter] Helbig“ signiert, unten links als „Anbetung der Könige“ bezeichnet und auf „1918“ datiert. Darunter eine eigenhändige Widmung „mit herzlichen Weihnachtsgrüßen“.
- Papier etwas nachgedunkelt und mit leichteren Knickspuren, an den Ecken Reißzweckenlöcher
- Der Sonnenreiter -
Durch die ‚Apokalypse‘ des Ersten Weltkrieges setzte eine Wiederbesinnung auf sakrale Kunst ein. Walter Helbig gehörte zum Umkreis der ‚Brücke‘ und des ‚Blauen Reiters‘. Mit seiner Neuauslegung religiöser Themen in expressionistischer Formensprache prägte Helbig die avantgardistische neo-sakrale Kunst. Symbolisch kommt dies in der Reitersilhouette vor dem sonnenartigen gelben Fond zum Ausdruck. Sie bezieht sich auf den vom ‚Blauen Reiten‘ initiierten Aufbruch, der nun sakral rückgebunden wird.
Reiter und Pferd ‚blicken‘ auf Maria und das Christuskind, die das gesamte Bildfeld durchmessen. Ihnen gegenüber sich die drei Könige situiert, deren ältester vor Christus kniet und ihm eine goldgefüllte Schatulle darbietet. Durch die expressionischen Lineaturen entwächst ihr ein in die ‚Sonne‘ hineinreichender Turm, so dass die Gabe zur gotischen Kirche geworden ist, was der Hoffnung Ausdruck verleiht, die untergegangenen Welt im Namen Christi wiederauferstehen zu lassen. Diese Bedeutungsdimension wird von der wie magisch wirkenden Farbgebung unterstrichen.
zum Künstler
1895 nahm Walter Helbig das Studium an der Dresdner Kunstakademie auf, wo er sich mit dem späteren Brücke-Künstler Otto Müller anfreundete, mit dem er von 1903 bis 1905 in Dresden zusammenwohnte. Während seines von 1897 bis 1899 währenden Studienaufenthalts in Italien lernte er Arnold Böcklin und Adolf von Hildebrand kennen. Nach dem Abschluss des Studiums war er zunächst für Otto Gussmann bei Kirchenausmalungen tätig. Von 1905 bis 1909 hielt er sich dann als freier Maler in Hamburg auf. Durch die Vermittlung Otto Müllers machte Helbig 1909 Bekanntschaft mit Künstlern der ‚Brücke‘. 1910 stellte er auf der Gründungsausstellung der Berliner ‚Neuen Secession‘ aus. Im selben Jahr übersiedelte er in die Schweiz, wo er in Weggis zusammen mit Hans Arp und Oscar Lüthy Mitbegründer des ‚Modernen Bundes‘ wurde, dem auch Cuno Amiet und Giovanni Giacometti angehörten. Auf der zweiten Ausstellung des ‚Modernen Bundes‘, 1911 in Zürich, waren neben Künstlern des ‚Blauen Reiters‘ auch Henri Matisse und Robert Delaunay vertreten. 1913 reiste Helbig zusammen mit Arp und Lüthy nach Paris. Nach der Auflösung des ‚Modernen Bundes‘ war Helbig 1914 auf der ersten Dada-Ausstellung in Zürich vertreten. 1919 schloss er sich der Berliner ‚Novembergruppe‘ an. Nach dem einschneidenden Ersten Weltkrieg widmete sich Helbig in seinem Schaffen zusehends religiösen Themen. 1924 zog er wie viele andere Künstler seiner Zeit aus finanziellen Gründen nach Ascona, wo er 1938 eingebürgert wurde. Dort gründete er die Künstlervereinigung ‚Der Große Bär‘, zu der auch Marianne von Werefkin gehörte. Die Gruppe veranstaltete von 1924 bis 1940 Jahresausstellungen. Bis 1933 hatte Helbig zudem ein Atelier in Berlin unterhalten, in dem er unteren anderen Tilla Durieux porträtierte. Mit der Machtergreifung der Nationalsozialisten wurden zahlreiche seiner Werke als ‚Entartete Kunst‘ aus Museen entfernt. 1948 fand in Zürich Helbigs erste große Einzelausstellung statt, der sich nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg den aktuellen Kunstströmungen öffnete.
- Creator:Walter Helbig (1878 - 1968, German)
- Creation Year:1918
- Dimensions:Height: 19.69 in (50 cm)Width: 13.78 in (35 cm)Depth: 0.4 in (1 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2438216118192
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