May 05, 2011 - Sale 2246

Sale 2246 - Lot 57

Price Realized: $ 3,600
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
GERARD RUTTEN (1902-1982) TENTOONSTELLUNG KERKELYKE EN PROFANE. 1923.
50 1/4x27 1/4 inches, 127 1/2x69 cm. J. Smulders en Co.
Condition B+: repaired tears, creases and restoration in margins and image; restored loss and overpainting in bottom margin slightly affecting text. Two sheets.
Primarily known as a set designer and a film director, Rutten's graphic legacy is three known posters. To advertise an exhibition of religious and secular art he uses an archetypal Dutch style (combining the best elements of Jan Toroop and R.N. Roland-Holst), in black and white, designed within a strict geometric frame. The almost abstract representation of the woman, prophet and warrior, shows the artist's familiarity with the classic Dutch Art Nouveau style, yet bespeaks a more contemporary Art Deco sensibility and an understanding of Cubism.