Hans Hartung Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Hans Hartung (21 September 1904 - Leipzig - 7 December 1989 - Antibes) was a naturalized Franco-German painter.

In 1935, to avoid the Nazi persecution of so-called degenerate art, he left Germany and moved to Paris, where he lived in extreme poverty. At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Foreign Legion on 26 December 1939, but a few months later he was demobilized in Sidi Belle Abbes; arrived in France, he worked in agriculture. Read the full biography

Hans Hartung (21 September 1904 - Leipzig - 7 December 1989 - Antibes) was a naturalized Franco-German painter.

In 1935, to avoid the Nazi persecution of so-called degenerate art, he left Germany and moved to Paris, where he lived in extreme poverty. At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Foreign Legion on 26 December 1939, but a few months later he was demobilized in Sidi Belle Abbes; arrived in France, he worked in agriculture. In 1942 he fled to Spain, where he was arrested and imprisoned for seven months. After liberation, he reached North Africa and joined the regiment on 8 December 1942. On 1 October 1944 he was assigned to the marching corps, fighting in Tunisia and landing in France. In November, he was seriously wounded at the Battle of Balfour, attempting to drag a wounded comrade into his line. After the evacuation, his right leg was amputated. On 19 May 1945 it was reformed by the Legion. Naturalized in France in 1946, he received the War Cross 1939-1945, the Military Order and the Legion of Honour.

In 1945 he resumed his painting activity interrupted by the conflict.

If in his early works he underlined his insistence on non-figurative art characterized by elements of abstract expression, in the post-war period the emphasis on spontaneity and control was based on the value of "symbols". The mix develops in a study informal drawing, graphics and painting ideas.

In 1960 he won the Grand Prix of the Venice Biennale.