Villa mit Turm

From 1907 to 1912, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff spent the summer months in Dangast, on the North Sea. »Villa with Tower« originates from this Dangast period and shows a building that the artist, a member of the Brücke group, also depicted in numerous woodcuts. Due to the painting’s formal abstraction, it is hard to recognize the villa at first glance. The house with the blue roof is situated in the very center of the picture—while next to it a broad, crooked tower extends into the yellow-green sky.

The expressive brushwork contributes perceptibly to the picture’s unsettled, almost nervous character. From the side, dark forms appear to collapse onto the villa, as if the very paint itself threatens the building. The Expressionist style of the painting, whose center appears to be in the grip of a maelstrom, is unmistakable. However, the subdued colors and the angular formal language also reflect Schmidt-Rottluff’s engagement with Cubism.