Lot 3241 - A215 Impressionist & Modern Art - Friday, 28. November 2025, 04.30 PM
CARL HOFER
(Karlsruhe 1878–1955 Berlin)
Portrait of the sculptor Dr. Hermann Hubacher. 1918.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated lower right: CH. 1918. Signed and inscribed on the stretcher verso: K. Hofer Portrait Hubacher.
117 × 81 cm.
Provenance:
- Hermann Hubacher, received as a gift from the above.
- Swiss private collection.
Exhibited:
Literature:
- Hermann Hubacher und Emil Staiger: Der Bildhauer Hermann Hubacher, Zürich 1965, p. 13.
- H.J. Schirmbeck: Carl Hofer, Berlin 1974, p. 9 (ill. no. 4).
Carl Hofer depicts the Swiss sculptor Hermann Hubacher in a nearly full-length portrait, in which his figure fills the frame. Dressed in an elegant suit with a waistcoat, bow tie, and conspicuous watch chain, he stands out against the monochrome, abstract background, which trains our attention entirely on the individual, with nothing to distract the eye.
His right hand casually concealed in his pocket, a cigarette in his left, his face entirely authentic, he gazes at us confidently, with an almost formal quiet and thoughtfulness. The work radiates a timeless grandeur and reflects Hofer's interest in the inner life of his subjects.
A common milieu for these two artists is the Reinhart family, Winterthur industrialists and art patrons, whose homes both frequented. The portrait was originally in the possession of the Reinharts before it was given to Hubacher. Conversely, Georg Reinhart commissioned Hubacher in 1918 to create a bronze head of Hofer, which remains in the Kunstmuseum Winterthur today.
His right hand casually concealed in his pocket, a cigarette in his left, his face entirely authentic, he gazes at us confidently, with an almost formal quiet and thoughtfulness. The work radiates a timeless grandeur and reflects Hofer's interest in the inner life of his subjects.
A common milieu for these two artists is the Reinhart family, Winterthur industrialists and art patrons, whose homes both frequented. The portrait was originally in the possession of the Reinharts before it was given to Hubacher. Conversely, Georg Reinhart commissioned Hubacher in 1918 to create a bronze head of Hofer, which remains in the Kunstmuseum Winterthur today.
CHF 30 000 / 50 000 | (€ 30 930 / 51 550)
Sold for CHF 37 500 (including buyer's premium)