AFA Winter 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 85 2019 Hans Hofmann (1880–1966), Rubasse (A Beautiful Variety of Rock Crystal), 1963. Oil on canvas, 72¼ x 60 inches. Private collection, Florida. With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. “Painting to me means forming with color,” Hofmann remarked to a fellow artist in 1950. As his work evolved toward abstraction, Hofmann increasingly structured his compositions solely by means of color arrangement and relational value, rather than representational line and shape. He explored emotive and sensorial qualities of color, particularly in relation to light. In Rubasse, titled after the ruby-red quartz, Hofmann evoked a sense of light glimmering in and out of a brilliant crimson ground, like the faceted surface of a crystal. Hofmann often titled his works after they were completed, allowing the process of painting itself to reveal potential associations and meanings.