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Lot Essay
Blick von der höhe (A view from the heights) is an exceptionally fine specimen of German artist Walter Spies’ body of work executed during his years spent in the Dutch East Indies. The mere fact that this masterpiece was included in his iconic solo exhibition at The Hague in 1964 is testament to the visual virtuosity and deep sensitivity to the Balinese culture that Spies was immersed in at the time of the painting. Due to his sudden demise at the age of forty-six, few paintings by the artist exist much less one with such a superb provenance — and as a result, works of this calibre are so highly prized that they are rarely encountered in the market, and an undeniable jewel in the crown of any eminent collection.
The present lot typifies Spies' classic visual language of an aerial view, an ethereal ambience through highly contrasted tones rendered with discernment, and translucent layers of colours that give the work an atmospheric quality. Although A view from the heights displays the signature characteristics of Spies’ landscape-forward compositions, with verdant foliage still a dominant feature, it employs elements such as the use of an indigenous palm tree to segment the canvas into an elaborate harmonious tapestry of individual vistas with their own vanishing points, signalling a more mature creative evolution from his relatively simplistic single-narrative Balinese paintings that preceded in the 1920s such as Pagodenlandschaft (Landscape with a Pagoda by a Lake).
These vignettes are further partitioned in Spies’ hallmark style of dramatic harsh illumination to highlight selected portions of his composition, while shrouding others in darkness. The resulting effect of this play on light, taken with the subtle modulation of a restrained palette of emerald and ochre tones, is one that brings the viewer into an almost dream-like world, yet simultaneously grounded in reality.
Growing up during the European colonialism period, Spies was greatly attracted to the deliberate naivety of the static lush tropical sceneries of French artist Henri Rousseau, whose works were very much in fashion during the time. Like Rousseau, Spies loved nature and studied it meticulously, which is exemplified in the repetitive incorporation of references to geographical features and landmarks such as Gunung Agung (Mount Agung), as well as native livestock like buffaloes. The lush greenery of the Indonesian archipelago served as inspiration, and he found aesthetic satisfaction in everything he encountered, applying a similar but distinctively separate stylisation to the way he rendered forms in his works. However, unlike the imaginative constructs in Rousseau’s paintings such as The Waterfall, which exoticized and projected the fears and fantasies of the Western world on to the native culture, Spies had a more nuanced approach to the subjects within his paintings.
Having already spent some years in Java, Spies moved to Bali in 1927. There, he fully embraced the culture of the island, studying the language, collaborating and influencing both endemic and expatriate artists as well as integrating himself within the natives. Spies’ influence on Balinese artists such as Anak Agung Gde Sobrat and I Gusti Agung Wiranata, his contribution as co-founder of the Pita Maha artists cooperative and his work with local Balinese dancer Wayan Limbak has been well documented and speaks to the respect bestowed upon him by local artistic collectives. Through Spies’ intensive study of Balinese life, art and culture, his artistic expression acquired a transcendental spirituality that emanated from his paintings as 'magical realism'.
This ‘magical realism’ is perfectly illustrated in the way the human figures portrayed in Blick von der höhe are done with such sentimentality that only an artist with close ties to the local community can convey so artfully. Spies’ treatment of the all the human subjects in the work, no matter how minute, is profoundly sympathetic. Blick von der höhe documents the various activities of the villagers at the end of the day under the last rays of the setting sun: some taking a quiet moment of repose under a shaded roof, while others return home from a long day at work. The tenderness in which the farmer in the corner is depicted, gently resting his outstretched arm on his bent knee, looking out across the land he toils upon during a brief respite, is exemplary of the way Spies avoids caricature and infuses his work with a meditative spirituality.
Spies’ strong influence on the artistic history of Indonesia’s modern art has made him a legendary figure in a vital moment in 20th century cross-cultural art between the European modernism and Eastern culture. More than paintings, his works are considered as windows into the deep mysticism, rich traditions and luscious landscapes of the archipelago, of which Blick von der höhe is demonstrably one of the most exquisite examples to be presented in the market in over a decade.
The present lot typifies Spies' classic visual language of an aerial view, an ethereal ambience through highly contrasted tones rendered with discernment, and translucent layers of colours that give the work an atmospheric quality. Although A view from the heights displays the signature characteristics of Spies’ landscape-forward compositions, with verdant foliage still a dominant feature, it employs elements such as the use of an indigenous palm tree to segment the canvas into an elaborate harmonious tapestry of individual vistas with their own vanishing points, signalling a more mature creative evolution from his relatively simplistic single-narrative Balinese paintings that preceded in the 1920s such as Pagodenlandschaft (Landscape with a Pagoda by a Lake).
These vignettes are further partitioned in Spies’ hallmark style of dramatic harsh illumination to highlight selected portions of his composition, while shrouding others in darkness. The resulting effect of this play on light, taken with the subtle modulation of a restrained palette of emerald and ochre tones, is one that brings the viewer into an almost dream-like world, yet simultaneously grounded in reality.
Growing up during the European colonialism period, Spies was greatly attracted to the deliberate naivety of the static lush tropical sceneries of French artist Henri Rousseau, whose works were very much in fashion during the time. Like Rousseau, Spies loved nature and studied it meticulously, which is exemplified in the repetitive incorporation of references to geographical features and landmarks such as Gunung Agung (Mount Agung), as well as native livestock like buffaloes. The lush greenery of the Indonesian archipelago served as inspiration, and he found aesthetic satisfaction in everything he encountered, applying a similar but distinctively separate stylisation to the way he rendered forms in his works. However, unlike the imaginative constructs in Rousseau’s paintings such as The Waterfall, which exoticized and projected the fears and fantasies of the Western world on to the native culture, Spies had a more nuanced approach to the subjects within his paintings.
Having already spent some years in Java, Spies moved to Bali in 1927. There, he fully embraced the culture of the island, studying the language, collaborating and influencing both endemic and expatriate artists as well as integrating himself within the natives. Spies’ influence on Balinese artists such as Anak Agung Gde Sobrat and I Gusti Agung Wiranata, his contribution as co-founder of the Pita Maha artists cooperative and his work with local Balinese dancer Wayan Limbak has been well documented and speaks to the respect bestowed upon him by local artistic collectives. Through Spies’ intensive study of Balinese life, art and culture, his artistic expression acquired a transcendental spirituality that emanated from his paintings as 'magical realism'.
This ‘magical realism’ is perfectly illustrated in the way the human figures portrayed in Blick von der höhe are done with such sentimentality that only an artist with close ties to the local community can convey so artfully. Spies’ treatment of the all the human subjects in the work, no matter how minute, is profoundly sympathetic. Blick von der höhe documents the various activities of the villagers at the end of the day under the last rays of the setting sun: some taking a quiet moment of repose under a shaded roof, while others return home from a long day at work. The tenderness in which the farmer in the corner is depicted, gently resting his outstretched arm on his bent knee, looking out across the land he toils upon during a brief respite, is exemplary of the way Spies avoids caricature and infuses his work with a meditative spirituality.
Spies’ strong influence on the artistic history of Indonesia’s modern art has made him a legendary figure in a vital moment in 20th century cross-cultural art between the European modernism and Eastern culture. More than paintings, his works are considered as windows into the deep mysticism, rich traditions and luscious landscapes of the archipelago, of which Blick von der höhe is demonstrably one of the most exquisite examples to be presented in the market in over a decade.