In Ostende. 1916.
Pencil and black Chalk drawing.
Lower right signed and dated, titled in lower left. 33.5 x 45 cm (13.1 x 17.7 in), the full sheet. [CH].

• From 1915 until the end of the war in 1918, Erich Heckel was stationed in Ostend as a medic, later as head of the medical platoon.
• In striking drawings such as the work offered here, as well as in prints and watercolors, Heckel depicted the architecture and his immediate surroundings in Ostend under dark clouds in the midst of the terrible war years.
• During this time, Heckel made the acquaintance of James Ensor (1860-1949), who came from Ostend and lived in the neighborhood.

The work is registered in the Erich Heckel Estate, Hemmenhofen on Lake Constance. We are grateful to Mrs. and Mr. Hans Geissler for their kind support in cataloging this lot.

PROVENANCE: Erich Heckel Estate, Hemmenhofen on Lake Constance.
Galleria Henze, Campione d'Italia (acquired from the above in 1984).
Galerie Elfriede Wirnitzer, Berlin.
Sammlung Hermann Gerlinger, Würzburg (1989 vom Vorgenannten erworben, mit dem Sammlerstempel, Lugt 6032
Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Würzburg (acquired from the above in 1989, with the collector's stamp, Lugt 6032)).

EXHIBITION: Mit Stift und Pinsel XI, Galerie Elfriede Wirnitzer, Berlin, summer of 1989, cat no. 2.
Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 1995-2001).
Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2001-2017).
Buchheim Museum, Bernried (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2017-2022).

LITERATURE: Heinz Spielmann (ed.), Die Maler der Brücke. Sammlung Hermann Gerlinger, Stuttgart 1995, p. 298, SHG no. 447 (illu.).
Hermann Gerlinger, Katja Schneider (eds.), Die Maler der Brücke. Inventory catalog Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 207, SHG no. 466 (illu.).

In good condition. The paper slightly browned. The upper sheet edge slightly irregular. In the right margin an elongated, faint brownish discoloration, probably from the making (approx. 50mm). Very few, isolated, tiny foxing spots.