Artwork Description

Title: Fensterbild 1 ‘Es brennt nach Licht…’
Artist: Reiner Kallhardt
Date: 2005
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 50.4 x 50.4 in (128 x 128 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Reiner Kallhardt’s Fensterbild 1 ‘Es brennt nach Licht…’ is a meticulously structured abstract composition executed in oil on canvas. Measuring 128 x 128 cm, this grid-based painting is composed of small, uniform square modules rendered in a carefully calibrated palette of grays, blacks, crimson, carmine, coral, and soft pinks. The systematic layout and repetition of these chromatic units suggest a window-like schema (as implied by the Title: “Fensterbild” or “Window Picture”), balanced by subtle variations in tone and rhythm.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
This work exemplifies Kallhardt’s affiliation with Concrete Art and geometric abstraction, where visual clarity and mathematical construction take precedence over representation. His use of modularity and chromatic fields aligns with the tradition of Bauhaus rationalism and echoes the systematic strategies of artists such as Josef Albers and Ad Reinhardt. In this painting, the luminous reds and pinks erupt against the dark structural field, emphasizing both harmony and interruption within a rigorously ordered design.

3. Historical Context
Completed in 2005, Fensterbild 1 belongs to a mature phase in Kallhardt’s oeuvre, during which he explored serial systems and conceptual modularity with increasing chromatic nuance. The poetic subTitle: ‘Es brennt nach Licht…’ (“It burns for light…”) introduces an evocative contrast to the precise rationality of the grid—suggesting themes of longing, inner ignition, or human desire for illumination, both literal and metaphysical. This emotional resonance offers a counterpoint to the painting’s structural formalism.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The oil paint layers are stable, clean, and well-preserved, with no visible cracking, flaking, or restoration. The canvas remains taut on its stretcher and exhibits no signs of structural weakness.

6. Artistic Significance
Fensterbild 1 ‘Es brennt nach Licht…’ is a compelling synthesis of intellectual clarity and poetic suggestion. It invites both formalist appreciation and contemplative interpretation, positioning itself at the intersection of system and sentiment. This piece holds a distinguished place in Kallhardt’s body of work, encapsulating his continued pursuit of order as a vessel for visual intensity and conceptual depth—qualities that appeal to collectors of geometric abstraction and contemporary minimalism alike.