Hartung, Hans

Hans Hartung was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1904 and is still one of the best-known artists on the French art scene. After studying art history and philosophy in Leipzig, he moved to the art academy there, triggered by his involvement with drawings by Kandinsky. Early on, Hartung became interested in non-representational, abstract painting and developed a passion for drawing and various printmaking techniques, mainly etchings and lithographs. He combined the then-currents of lyrical abstraction, informal art, and abstract expressionism in his visual vocabulary and developed a distinctive formal and pictorial language.
 

Hartung used the technique of intaglio printing for many graphic works. He preferred to work light backgrounds on which he ran black energetic stripes. His non-figurative style is characterized by a clear play with black lines, which not infrequently resemble Asian ink drawings. By means of vertical color stripes he formed an individual calligraphy with personal expressiveness in spontaneity and movement. He skillfully arranges the elements through superimposition to create a unique depth effect, which create a dynamic, as well as spatial construction before the eye of the beholder.
 

His paintings and drawings, as well as over 600 prints, have brought Hartung lasting international fame. He was a participant in documenta I, II and III in Kassel, and in 1960 he was chosen as a laureate of the Venice Biennale. Hans Hartung died on December 7, 1989 in Antibes.