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Lot Essay
Hans Hofmann's abstract works are based on a careful definition of pictorial space. In what has become perhaps his most famous dictum, "Depth, in a pictorial sense, is not created by the arrangement of objects one after another toward a vanishing point, in the sense of Renaissance perspective, but on the contrary by the creation of forces in the sense of push and pull." (Quoted in S. Hunter, Hans Hofmann, New York, 1963, p. 14).
The principal compositional element of his late paintings is the rectangle. By following Mondrian's example, Hofmann employed a preparatory method pinning paper rectangles of color to the canvas in order to judge the success of his attempts to organize the relationship between color planes. In the present work, solid blocks of heavily impastoed color are weighed against a brilliant white ground, and they create a complex, symphonic relationship. Proprie Moto which has been described as "cool and perfect," (W. D. Bannard, op. cit.,, p. 20) reflects the discipline and intellectual rigor of the artist, yet, still retains the sensuality of pure color found in the grandeur of his late rectangle paintings.
The principal compositional element of his late paintings is the rectangle. By following Mondrian's example, Hofmann employed a preparatory method pinning paper rectangles of color to the canvas in order to judge the success of his attempts to organize the relationship between color planes. In the present work, solid blocks of heavily impastoed color are weighed against a brilliant white ground, and they create a complex, symphonic relationship. Proprie Moto which has been described as "cool and perfect," (W. D. Bannard, op. cit.,, p. 20) reflects the discipline and intellectual rigor of the artist, yet, still retains the sensuality of pure color found in the grandeur of his late rectangle paintings.