Lot 37 | Maria Lassnig | "ML als Invalide"

LASSNIG, MARIA
1919 Kappel am Krappfeld - 2014 Vienna

Title: "ML als Invalide".
Date: 2002.
Technique: Mixed media on laid paper.
Measurement: 31,5 x 22cm.
Notation: Signed lower right: M Lassnig. As well as titled and dated upper centre: ML als Invalide 2002. Verso dedicated to Kasper König.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.


Provenance:
- Collection Kasper König, Berlin (directly from artist)

Word artist in Paris and New York
Maria Lassnig is a groundbreaking Austrian artist, known for her unique 'Body Awareness Paintings'. She has left her mark on art history with her innovative approach to visualising inner feelings and is considered a pioneer of the feminist art movement. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, she travelled to Paris for the first time in the early 1950s with Arnulf Rainer. Disappointed by their encounter with the forefather of Surrealism, André Breton, Lassnig and Rainer turned to an abstract exhibition of works by Mathieu and Pollock, which had a lasting effect on their oeuvre. In the 1960s, Lassnig moved to Paris. It was here that she came to the attention of the legendary artist and feminist Nancy Spero, who convinced her to continue her artistic career in New York. There Lassnig succeeded in gaining wider recognition - only at the age of 60. In 1980, the artist returned to Vienna.

Body Awareness
In her 'Body Awareness Paintings', Maria Lassnig depicts not only the bare body, but rather its inner sensations. In doing so, she thematises the exciting interplay between the external and internal worlds. While the impulses perceived from the outside through the eye release impulses within, inner feelings only have a limited effect on the outside world. It is precisely this gap that Lassnig seeks to close with her oeuvre.

ML als Invalide (Maria Lassnig as an invalid)
The work 'ML as Invalid' from 2002 shows an impressive exploration of physical self-awareness. The work represents Lassnig's unique style, expressing physical and emotional experiences through dynamic lines and bold colours. She explores the feeling of vulnerability and frailty by depicting her own body in an unusual and alienated pose for the viewer. The yellow background colour enhances the intensity and contrast of the depiction, revealing the fragility yet strength of human existence. Lassnig's work remains a significant contribution to modern art and body perception.