- Timothy Taylor

Estate of Hans Hartung, 1904 — 1989
Hans Hartung (born Leipzig 1904) was a German-born émigré who made France his
home and fought with the French Foreign Legion during WW2. He achieved great
recognition for his work in post-war Europe, and was awarded the International Prize at
the Venice Biennale in 1960. In 1994 a foundation in Antibes was established in his name
alongside that of his wife, the Norwegian painter, Anna Eva Bergman.
Hartung is best known for his 1950s gestural and existential abstractions: psychographs
in paint composed of dramatic sheaves of dark brush strokes, against a light washed
background. It was only discovered recently, however, that Hartung meticulously
planned and copied these apparently spontaneous paintings from much smaller sketches
and studies. This fact has forced a reassessment of our idea of Hartung as the ultimate
expressionist artist, positioning him instead as an early exponent of painting as a
solipsistic and mimetic activity.
Hartung’s later work is enjoying a revival of critical and curatorial interest following
exhibitions such as Deadline, at the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris (2009), which included
last works by, amongst others, Martin Kippenberger and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Hartung’s work was also included alongside Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline,
Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, Eva Hesse and Cy Twombly in Action Painting
(Fondation Beyeler, Basel, 2008), an exhibition looking at abstract gestural painting in
Europe and the United States following the Second World War.
Recent exhibitions include Ink Blacks, An Exchange of Views:
Hans Hartung and
contemporary Chinese painters, Baur Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland (2013), Hartung.
Prints at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, travelling to the Staatliche Museen zu
Berlin and the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève (2011) and Hans Hartung – Lo
Slancioat the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Turin (2010).
Hans Hartung died in Antibes in 1989.
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Biography
1904
1939
1945
1989
Born in Leipzig, Germany
Joined the French Foreign Legion
Became French citizen
Hans Hartung died aged 85 in Antibes, France
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Beau Geste: Hans Hartung, Painter and Legionnaire, Museum of the Foreign
Legion and Art Center Les Pénitents Noirs"
Hans Hartung and Photography, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Siegen,
Germany
2015
Hans Hartung, A tribute to Daniel Cordier / Collection Fondation HartungBergman, Espace Miramar, Cannes, France
2014–15 Hans Hartung: L’Atelier du Geste, CCBB, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2013–14 The Roots of Signs: Graphic Works, Roma Istituto nazionale per la grafica,
Palazzo Polo, Rome, Italy
2012
Hans Hartung: Fait le 29.7.89 – Bilder eines Tages, Galerie Fahnemann,
Berlin, Germany
2011
Hartung: Prints, Musée de Vannes, France
Boeing 70, Villa Giulia, Verbania, Italy
Hartung: Prints, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland
Hans Hartung: The Final Years 1980-1989, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London,
UK
2010–11 Hans Hartung: The last paintings, Cheim & Read, New York, USA
Hans Hartung Prints, Museum of Prints and Drawings, National Museum of
Berlin, Germany; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France; Musée
d'Art et d'Histoire de Genève, Geneva Switzerland. cat.
2009
Hans Hartung, The Ultimate Work, Caserma Cosenz, Gaeta, Italy. cat.
2008
Hans Hartung: The Gesture and the Method, Fondation Marguerite and
Aimé Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, cat.
Hans Hartung: Essential, Circula de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain. Bernard
Derdérian, Franz-W. Kaiser and Nicolas Morales, cat.
2007–08 Hans Hartung: Spontaneous Calculus, Pictures, Photographs, Film 1922-1989,
Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany; Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel,
Germany, cat.
2005
Hartung in China, Palace of Fine Arts, Beijing, China; National Museum,
Nankin, China, cat.
2016
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Hans Hartung, Space and Gesture, San Stefano, Mondovi, Italy
Hans Hartung: Conceptualism Before the Letter, Gemeentemuseum, The
Hague, The Netherlands
Hans Hartung: Works on Paper, 1922-1938, Museum Ludwig, Cologne,
Germany, cat.
2003
Hans Hartung, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Belfort, France; Musée du Château
des Ducs de Würtemberg, Montbéliard, France, cat.
2000
Hans Hartung, Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy. cat.
1999
Hans Hartung, Works on Paper 1922-1985, Kunstforum in der
Grundkreditbank, Berlin, Germany, cat.
1998
Hans Hartung, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan
1996
Hans Hartung: Works on Paper, 1922-1956, Tate Britain, London, UK, cat.
Hartung, Modern Painter, Le Capitou - Centre d'Art Contemporain, Fréjus,
France, cat.
1992
Hans Hartung: Extreme Artworks 1922 – 1989, Musée de Montbéliard,
Montbéliard, France; Villa Franck, Ludwigsburg, Germany
1989
Hans Hartung: First Abstract Research, 1922-1938,
Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar, France
Hartung: Paintings 1988, Galerie Sapone, Nice, France
1988
Hans Hartung: Recent Works, 1986-1987-1988, Musée des Beaux-Arts,
Carcassonne, France
Hans Hartung, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Ferrara, Italy
1987
Hans Hartung: First Paintings, 1922-1949, Musée Picasso, Antibes, France, cat.
1894
Hans Hartung 80th Birthday Paintings and Lithographs 1964-1984, Galerie
Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, Germany, cat.
Hans Hartung 1971-1983, Noroit, Arras, France
1983
Hans Hartung: Graphic, Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen, Berlin,
Germany; Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Germany, cat.
Hartung: Paintingss 1980-1983, Galerie Sapone, Nice, France
1981–82 Hans Hartung: Paintings, Drawings, Photography, Steddtische Kunsthalle,
Dusseldorf, Germany; Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munich, Germany
1981
Hans Hartung: A Vision into Abstraction 1923-1964, Fischer Fine Art Limited,
London, UK; Pels-Leusden, Berlin, Germany
1980
Hartung: Works from 1922 – 1939, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris,
France, cat.
Hans Hartung, Photographs by Hans Hartung, Musée Nicéphore Niépce,
Chalon-sur-Saône, France; Galerie Municipale du Château-d'eau, Toulouse,
France
1979
Hans Hartung: Paintings and Works on Paper 1976-1977, Galerie de France,
Paris, France, cat.
2004
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1978
1977
1975–76
1974–75
1974
1972
1971–72
1971
1969–70
1969
1968
1967
1966
1965
1963–64
1963
Hans Hartung, Musée Picasso, Antibes, France
Hans Hartung, Fondation Veronneman, Kruishoutem, Emka, Belgium
Hans Hartung: Works on Paper Retrospective 1922-1978, Musee de l’Abbaye
Sainte-Croix, Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, cat.
Hans Hartung: Paintings and Graphics, Fritz-Winter-Haus, Ahlen, Germany,
cat.
Hartung, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris,
France
Hans Hartung: Paintings 1971-1975, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, US, cat.
Hans Hartung: Works from Five Decades, Wallraf-Richortz-Museum,
Cologne, Germany; Nationalgalerie Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Städtische
Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
Hans Hartung: 1971-1974, Galerie de France, Paris, France, cat
Hans Hartung: Graphics from Erker-Presse 1973, Erker-Galerie, SaintGallen, Switzerland, cat.
Hans Hartung, Städtische Galerie im Haus Seel, Siegen, Germany, cat
Hans Hartung: 1971, Galerie de France, Paris, France
Hartung: Large Formats 1961-1971, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence,
Saint-Paul, France
Hans Hartung: Pictures, Pastels, Graphics, Kunstverein Braunschweig,
Brunswick, Germany, cat.
Hans Hartung, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, US; Musée du Québec,
Quebec, Canada; Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada, cat.
Hartung, Tàpies, Johns, Hoza: The VIII International Graphics Exhibition in
Ljubljana, Galerie Nationale, Prague, Czech Republic, cat.
Hans Hartung: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, City of
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK
Hartung, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France, cat.
Hartung, Galleria d'Arte Narciso, Turin, Italy
Hartung, Recent Lithographs, Galerie La Hune, Paris, France
Hans Hartung, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy, cat.
Hans Hartung: Small Prints, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich, Germany
Hartung, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, cat.
Hans Hartung, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria, cat
Hans Hartung, Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, cat.
Hans Hartung, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf,
Germany, cat.
Hans Hartung, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich, Germany
Hans Hartung, Erker-Galerie, Gallusplatz, Saint Gallen, France, cat.
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1962
1961
1960
1959
1957
1954
1953
1949
1947
1931
Fifty New Works by Hans Hartung, Galerie de France, Paris, France
Hans Hartung, Oeuvres de 1920 -1939, Galerie de France, Paris, France
Hans Hartung, Gimpel Fils, London, UK
Hans Hartung, Galerie de France, Paris, France
Hans Hartung: Pastels 1958, Kleemann Galleries, New York, USA
Hans Hartung: Rubens Prize of Siegen, Rathaus, Siegen, Germany
Hans Hartung: Exhibition, Moderne Galerie Otto Stangl, Munich, Germany
Hans Hartung, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany; Württembergische
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany; Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany;
Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; KoInischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany;
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany, cat.
Hans Hartung: Paintings, Kleemann Galeries, New York, USA
Hartung, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium
Paintings by Hans Hartung, Lefevre Gallery, London, UK
Hans Hartung, Abstractions, The Hanover Gallery, London, UK, cat.
Hans Hartung, Galerie Lydia Conti, Paris, France. cat. Madeleine Rousseau
Hans Hartung, Kunstausstellung Kühl, Dresden, Germany
Selected Group Exhibitions
Sprayed, Gagosian Gallery, London, UK
Sensations de Nature: De Courbet à Hartung, Musee Courbet, Ornans, France
2014–15 L’Art Informel à Paris: Hans Hartung, Lee Ungno, Zao Wou-Ki, Pierre
Soulages, Lee Ungno Museum, Daejeon, South Korea
2014
B / W, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK
Les désastres de la guerre 1800-2014, Louvre-Lens, Lens, France
Face à l’oeuvre, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France
2013
Hantaï, Hartung, Soulages, Tàpies, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK
Noirs d’encre. Regards croisés, Fondation Baur, Geneva, Switzerland
At the Nexus of Painting and Writing, Seoul Arts Centre, Seoul, South Korea
2012
Dialogue Kirili-Hartung, Musee Picasso, Antibes, France
2013
I went, Musee Guimet, Paris, France
Traits d’Union, Musee Boucher-de-Perthes, Abbeville, France
2011
Regard sur l’abstraction lyrique, Musée des Beaux Arts de Carcassonne,
France
La couleur en avant, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Nice, France
La peinture autrement, Musée Fernand Léger, Biot, France
2015
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Painterly Abstraction: 1949-1969: Selections from the Guggenheim Collections,
Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain
2009–10 Deadline: Martin Kippenberger, Absalon, Hans Hartung, James Lee Byars,
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Joan Mitchell, Robert Mapplethorpe, Chen Zhen,
Gilles Aillaud, Willem de Kooning, Hannah Villiger, Jiirg lmmendorff, Musée
d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
1981
Hartung, Bergman, Bret, Clavé, Farhi, Guitet, Helion, Kijno,
Laude, Lipszyc, Pignon, Prassinos, Soulages, Zao Wou-Ki,
Cloître Saint-Louis, Aix-en-Provence, France; Présence Contemporaine,
Puyricard, Paris, France
1980–81 Hans Hartung, Anna-Eva Bergman: Tapestries and Woodcuts, Musée de la
Poste, Paris, France
1958
Léger - Matisse - Picasso - Miro - Laurens- Magnelli - Arp - Hartung Jacobsen, Musée de l'Art wallon, Liège, Belgium
1956
Abstract Painter: Bazaine, Bertholle, Bissière, Eble, Estève, Hartung, Jan,
Lanskoy, Louttre, Manessier, Le Moal, Nallar, Palazuelo, Vieira da Silva,
Singier, Spiller, de Staël, Ubac,
Galerie Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland
1954
Current trends at the school of Paris: Hartung et al, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern,
Switzerland
1952
Walter Bodmer, Basel. Hans Hartung, Paris, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel,
Switzerland. Benno Schwabe
1951
Hans Hartung, Fritz Winter, Das Amerika-Haus, Erlangen, Germany
1938
Exhibition of 20th Century German Art, New Burlington Galleries, London,
UK. Herbert Read
1937
Origins and Developments of Independent International Art, Musée du Jeu de
Paume, Paris, France
1936
Recent Works by: Arp, Ferren, Giacometti, Hartung, Hélion, Kandinsky,
Nelson, Paalen, Tauber-Arp, La Galerie Pierre, Paris, France
Selected Public and Private Collections
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Massachusetts, USA
Busch-Reisinger Museum, Massachusetts, USA
Canton Museum of Art, Ohio, USA
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, USA
De Young, San Francisco, USA
Fogg Museum, Massachusetts, USA
GAM, Turin, Italy
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Haifa Museum, Israel
Hirshhorn Museum and Art Garden, Washington D.C., USA
Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany
Tate Collection, UK
The Art Institute of Chicago, USA
The Courtauld Institute, London, UK
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