Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956)
(Haystacks, Quiberville, Normandy), 1906
Pencil on graph paper
5 5/16 x 8 5/8 in. (13.5 x 21.9 cm)
Signed lower right: Feininger
Dated lower left: SAT SEP 8 06
Here we present six special nature studies by Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956) from the collection of the distinguished art historian and museum director Alois J. Schardt (1889–1955). Five of these nature studies are among the rare works that Feininger signed. They capture glimpses of his visits to Normandy in 1906; stays beside the Baltic Sea in 1908 and 1922; and the first summer he spent in Braunlage in the Harz Mountains in 1917. The works reflect Feininger’s versatility as a draftsman, as he ranged from depicting haystacks in Normandy in a style reminiscent of Monet, to a cubistic rendering of the church of Gelmeroda (a subject he returned to often), to intricately detailed renderings of a lively pier and the pattern of clouds over the Baltic Sea, which he ended up using as the base for the paintings On the Quay I, 1908, and The Island, 1923.
