Items Similar to Swiss painting Bleu“The Battle of Salamine” by Hugo Cleis, abstraction
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 22
Swiss painting Bleu“The Battle of Salamine” by Hugo Cleis, abstraction
About the Item
One of a kind painting by the Swiss artist Hugo Cleis. Cleis began his artistic career with Swiss Expressionism, which featured social content, although in the mid-1940s his work focused on popular, legendary, and mythical themes, without abandoning naturalistic and expressive representation. This work, "The Battle of Salamis," fits precisely into this context. The work also belongs to the painter's most abstract period, during which he focused on conveying a symbolic message in his dynamic works.
The Battle of Salamis was a crucial naval engagement that took place in 480 BC during the Persian Wars, where the Greek fleet, led by Themistocles, defeated the Persian navy of Xerxes I. This victory was decisive in preserving the independence of the Greek city-states and marked a turning point in the history of ancient Greece. This could be related to the fact that the 1940s were a complex and delicate period for Switzerland due to the context of World War II (1939–1945). Although Switzerland maintained its traditional policy of armed neutrality, it was surrounded by the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and occupied France), which placed it in a strategic but vulnerable position.
The technique itself, with its rapid, highly material brushstrokes, also contributes to this sense of agitation and tension. Although the forms are highly fragmented, the two vessels, engaged in a naval battle, are clearly distinguishable. The predominant colors are blue, gray, and black, with white and ochre accents (the use of such cool colors adds drama to the scene). Signed in the lower left corner.
About Hugo / Ugo Cleis (1903, Diepflingen - 1976, Mendrisio)
Hugo Cleis, also known as Ugo Cleis, was a prominent Swiss artist born on April 5, 1903, in Diepflingen, in the canton of Basel-Landschaft, and died on September 13, 1976, in Mendrisio, Ticino. His work spanned and excelled in various disciplines, including painting, printmaking, illustration, muralism, and mosaics.
After losing his father, the family settled in Sissach, where Cleis trained as a decorative painter. Between 1921 and 1923, he studied at the Kunstgewerbe Akademie in Dresden, specializing in decorative painting and stage design. He subsequently perfected his technique in Geneva and Italy. Throughout his career, he worked on various projects in Switzerland and abroad, notable for his murals, frescoes, and mosaics in public and private buildings. From 1928, he began painting in oils and watercolors.
In 1931, he moved to Mendrisiotto, and that same year, he joined the Ticino branch of the SPSAS and, later, joined the region's Fine Arts Society. His first solo exhibitions were held between 1930 and 1937 in Sissach.
His works touch on rural and natural themes in an intimate and symbolic manner, blending realism with expressionism and the fantastic. His style is characterized by a combination of figurative and decorative elements, influenced by Swiss and European artistic traditions.
Throughout his career, Cleis received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Kunstpreis of the City of Zurich in 1953 and the Pietro Chiesa Prize in 1962. He was also director of the Vincenzo Vela Museum in Ligornetto from 1958 to 1974. The Cleis family has maintained an artistic tradition in Switzerland, with several prominent members in the art world. For example, his nephew, Martin Cleis, is known for his work as a draftsman, photographer, and painter.
Technical details
Technique: Oil on canvas
Title of the work: "The Battle of Salamine"
Author: Hugo Cleis / Ugo Cleis
Signed in the lower left corner
Style: Abstraction
Period: Mid-20th century
Country of origin: Switzerland
Good condition commensurate with age and use
Overall dimensions: 86 x 131 x 3 cm
- Creator:Hugo 'go (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 33.86 in (86 cm)Width: 51.58 in (131 cm)Depth: 1.19 in (3 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Valladolid, ES
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2943345212362
About the Seller
4.7
Gold Seller
Premium sellers maintaining a 4.3+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 1990
1stDibs seller since 2017
157 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: VALLADOLID, Spain
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllFrench landscape painting by René Genis green “The alley of the cypresses”
By René Genis
Located in Valladolid, ES
One of a kind and very beautiful work by René Genis, a French painter known for his serene and poetic style, depicts a sown field from an unusual perspective, cut by a foreground of...
Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Wood, Paint
18th Century Spanish Painting on the Glass, Couple of Painting, Gildwood Frame
Located in Valladolid, ES
Amazing pair of baroque cornucopias, with painted glass, s. XVIII, Spanish origin, Andalusian school (Córdoba)
Outstanding pair of Cornucopias in carved wood and gilwood decorated w...
Category
Antique 1780s Baroque Paintings
Materials
Glass, Giltwood, Paint
$8,057 Sale Price / set
20% Off
Oil on canvas Spain Abstraction Blue gray “Children's Islands” Esteban de la Foz
By Spanish Manufactory
Located in Valladolid, ES
An exceptional and one of a kind large-format work by Esteban de la Foz, undoubtedly the most representative and influential figure in abstract art in Cantabria. Titled "Children's ...
Category
1990s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Paint
Belgian Painting Allegoric signed by P. Swyncop
By Philip Swyncop
Located in Valladolid, ES
Ó/L “Peace and the arts are worth more than the brutal glory of weapons”, Philippe Swyncop, 1903 – Belgium, Flemish School
Exquisite oil on canvas si...
Category
Antique Early 1900s Belgian Art Nouveau Paintings
Materials
Paint, Canvas
$10,002 Sale Price
20% Off
Catalan School Large Painting "The Walk" Oil on canvas , Romantic style
By Mary Spain
Located in Valladolid, ES
“The walk”, Lluís Muntané Muns, Catalan School, pp. 20th century - Spain
Technique on support: oil on canvas
Title of the work: “The Walk”
Author: Lluís Muntané Muns (1899 - 1987)
Style/School: Catalan School
Period: first half of the 20th century
Country of origin: Catalonia, Spain
Origin: Banco Santander
Some damage visible in the photographs and that could be restored
Dimensions: 204 x 343 cm.
One of a kind and Large oil on canvas signed by Lluís Muntané Muns depicting a pleasant everyday scene, aristocrats and bourgeois taking a walk along a wide avenue. The ladies with their elegant dresses and parasols and the men with long coats.
This work is unique, not only for its pictorial quality in such a large, almost muralist size, but for its traceability, it was commissioned at the beginning of the 20th century and includes a bank building from the end and beginning of the 20th century in Latin America.
The composition is divided into a horizontal strip in the lower half in which the different characters are arranged, conversing with each other, flanked by the trees that appear at the ends. Behind them, in the center of the composition rises a large neoclassical-style building that escapes towards the landscape that can be seen in the background.
Lluís Muntané Muns opted for a realistic academicism, of high quality but with sober and static expression, which is also reminiscent of some of the characteristics of Catalan noucentisme. Although most of his career was dedicated to portraits, he also cultivated muralism. A lover of chiaroscuro, he managed to provide warmth to his plastic environments with an equally elegant and contained palette. His compositions are always well constructed and have the elegance that seems a dominant note in all aspects of his work.
Noucentisme or Novencentism designates a cultural movement that began in 1906 in Catalonia (propounded by Eugenio d'Ors), claiming the need for a classicism with a sense of modernity, but that was at the same time linked to tradition, given its nationalist mood. . Catalan identity linked to the classic substratum of Catalonia and its connection with the Mediterranean. He wanted to break with the cosmopolitan character of Modernism and the transience of Impressionism. He set out to achieve a more objective, constant and, ultimately, eternal art. For this, the idea of the “classical” (but never an explicit copy of said period) and the “Mediterranean” was used and the way to capture it in painting was through static, balanced, and simple compositions. It must be pointed out that it cannot be understood as a style, but as a series of ideas that each artist understands in his own way.
In this case, the memory of noucentisme is appreciated above all in the composition: a feeling of serenity, proportion, the figures do not present very exaggerated or grandiose movements... It attempts to represent the eternal through compositional balance. The colors seem muted because this effect was sought, since they understood classicism as something serene and balanced.
Lluís Muntané Muns (Mataró, Barcelona, 1899 – Barcelona, 1987)
A disciple of Vicente Borrás and José...
Category
Vintage 1920s Spanish Romantic Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Paint, Wood
$4,352 Sale Price
35% Off
French Oil on cardboard “View of the Villefranche coast”Rene Charles Edmond His
Located in Valladolid, ES
This Amazinf and beautiful work by René His transports you to the Villefranche coast, an idyllic corner of southern France, where nature is displayed in all its splendor. The painti...
Category
Antique Early 1900s French Aesthetic Movement Paintings
Materials
Wood, Paint
You May Also Like
The Battle of Trafalgar Seascape Painting
Located in Queens, NY
Copy of a seascape painting titled "The Battle of Trafalgar" showing Admiral Nelson's Flagship, Victory
Category
Late 20th Century American Georgian Paintings
Materials
Paint
"Battle of the Nudes, " Large Art Deco Painting by Wedel, Elton John Collection
By Nils Wedel
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This fantastic view of a great battle waged by a phalanx of nude male soldiers -- probably a scene from Sweden or France -- was painted by Nils Wedel, an important Swedish painter st...
Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Paintings
Materials
Paint
Small Painting by Jean Hugo from 1927
By Jean Hugo
Located in New York, NY
Great grandson of the famous writer Victor Hugo, the painter Jean Hugo (1894-1984) was in the thick of the Paris art scene between the wars. A member of the avant garde, he was a friend of Picasso, Cocteau and Colette and was associated with the Neo Romantics. His small gouaches on paper were avidly collected by Dr. Albert Barnes, and can be seen today in the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia. Hugo's most desirable work -- landscapes, interior scenes, set designs -- date from the mid 1920s to the late 1930s. This whimsical painting, signed and dated 1927, is set in a curtained, classical interior furnished with Victorian lighting fixtures...
Category
Vintage 1920s French Romantic Paintings
Materials
Gouache
“Abstraction”Painting by Pasacal Simonpietri, 1995
By Albert Chubac
Located in London, GB
“Abstraction” Painting by Pascal Simonpietri , 1995
Gouache on framed paper. Studio stamp lower right.
Dimensions: Height 100 x 60cm
Originally from Corsica, Pascal Simonpietri translates through his writing his admiration for expressionism into an instinctive pictorial gesture.
His vocabulary, his tangy playful figures, his signs speak of life as he imagines it, both tender and restless, but always generous like the broad spectrum of his palette. Through this sincere and authentic painting...
Category
20th Century French Post-Modern Paintings
Materials
Paper
painting of a Swiss peasant woman
Located in grand Lancy, CH
painting of a Swiss peasant woman
Category
Antique Early 19th Century Swiss Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Wood
Decorative painting of Swiss alp
Located in grand Lancy, CH
Decorative painting of Swiss alp
Category
Vintage 1920s Swiss Paintings
Materials
Canvas