HANNS PELLAR (1886-1971)
HANNS PELLAR (1886-1971)
HANNS PELLAR (1886-1971)
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HANNS PELLAR (1886-1971)

Libelle

Details
HANNS PELLAR (1886-1971)
Libelle
inscribed, signed and dated ':LIBELLE:/ HANNS/PELLAR/.1910.' (lower right)
tempera, heightened with gold, on panel
39 ½ x 37 in. (101 x 94 cm.)
Painted in 1910.
Provenance
with Moderne Galerie (Heinrich Thannhauser), Munich, inv. no. 1366.
Elbogen, Munich, by 1927.
Sale Helbing, Munich 9 July 1927, lot 161 (Unsold);
Franz Xaver Hilbert (1930 - 2021), Aachen, by 1977;
Private Collection Vienna, by 1986.
Anonymous sale; Dorotheum, Vienna, 19 May 1987, lot 217.
Anonymous sale; Dorotheum, Vienna, 5 December 1989, lot 102, where acquired by the late Barry Humphries.
Exhibited
Darmstadt, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Ein Dokument deutscher Kunst, Darmstadt, 1901-1976, Vol. 4, Die Künstler der Mathildenhöhe, October 1976-January 1977, no. 599, p. 201 (with incorrect dimensions).

Brought to you by

Benedict Winter
Benedict Winter Associate Director, Specialist

Lot Essay


The Viennese painter, Hanns Pellar, was known for his distinctive Art Nouveau style, which was characterized by elegant lines, ornamental patterns, and often featured mythological and allegorical subjects. In 1911, Pellar was appointed to the Künstlerkolonie in Darmstadt by the Grand Duke of Hessen. There, he specialized mainly in portrait painting and thus, became known to an elite circle of collectors. His imaginative and luminous pictures of ladies of the high society in elegant gowns were particularly appreciated. Pellar's artistic career was part of the broader Jugendstil movement in Austria and Germany, which paralleled similar developments in art across Europe, such as the Arts and Crafts movement in England and Art Nouveau in France and Belgium.

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