Detailed description

Picture "NOR" (1961)

The colour lithograph “NOR”, dating from 1961, belongs to a key phase in Ernst Wilhelm Nay’s oeuvre, characterised by what are known as the “Scheibenbilder” (disc paintings). In these works, the artist developed an autonomous visual language in which colour and form no longer serve a descriptive purpose, but act as independent forces.

In this lithograph, too, a rhythmically organised structure of coloured elements unfolds, defined by a dynamic balance between movement and order. The characteristic structures, derived from the circular form, appear less as fixed shapes than as pulsating colour events that permeate and, at the same time, structure the pictorial space. This focus on the ‘gestalt value of colour’ embodies Nay’s central artistic concern: to understand colour as the primary vehicle of pictorial meaning.

The fact that it was produced as a lithograph by Mourlot in Paris also attests to the high technical quality of the print and to Nay’s international involvement in the avant-garde of his time. ‘NOR’ thus exemplifies the mature phase of one of the most significant representatives of post-war German abstraction and impressively illustrates the synthesis of chromatic intensity and compositional clarity that has left a lasting mark on his work.

Colour lithograph, 1961. Edition: 75 copies plus 15 artist's copies, numbered, signed and dated. Printed by Mourlot, Paris. Published by Der Spiegel, Cologne. Catalogue raisonné Gabler no. 64. Motif size 42 x 61.5 cm. Sheet size 57.5 x 67 cm. Framed size 60 x 79 cm, as shown.

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