Franz Gertsch (1930–2022)

Read transcript

Words can hardly do this sight justice. These monumental paintings, gathered together in a single room and glowing with the deepest blue, are utterly captivating. Their effect is unparalleled – almost hypnotic, even mysterious.

They are among the last works Franz Gertsch painted, completed at the age of ninety. He used one of the world’s most precious pigments: genuine ultramarine, made from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli, mined in Afghanistan. Gertsch was captivated by what he called the colour’s 'unique beauty':

'After painting my first lapis lazuli picture, I decided to create a blue room – a dream I had cherished for many years.'

He created five paintings using lapis lazuli pigment, three of which are on display here. For Gräser VIII (Grasses VIII), he even used its finest form: Fra Angelico Blue, prepared according to a centuries-old recipe. It is named after the Early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico, who used the pigment for the Virgin Mary’s cloak as a symbol of the divine.

'Blue has a mystique of its own.'

Gertsch certainly thought so.

In these monochrome paintings, it is no longer people but nature that takes centre stage. Gertsch returns to subjects he had explored for many years in his woodcuts – grasses, butterbur and forest landscapes – each rendered in a single colour. Examples of these woodcuts can be seen in the exhibition in Burgdorf.

At the age of ninety, Gertsch ventured onto entirely new artistic ground with these blue paintings. In an interview given in 2020, the year they were created, he said:

'One thing has always been true of my work: I am constantly searching for adventure, for a new challenge. The subject itself tells me how it wants to be painted. Whenever I begin a new painting, I always try to recover a beginner’s mind.'