Ackermann, Max

Description:

Berlin, 1887 - Unterlengenhardt, 1975
150 x 120 cm, R.
"Ohne Titel (Garten der Hesperiden)", 1968. Acrylic on canvas. Signed and dated in acrylic lower right; additionally signed and dated in coloured chalk on the reverse of the stretcher “20. X. - 17. XII. 1968”.
Galerie Döbele, Stuttgart.
Collection Monika and Horst Bülow, Leonberg.
"Max Ackermann 1887 - 1975. Zum 100 Geburtstag", Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1987, no. 130 (with full-page colour fig.).
This striking 1968 work belongs to Max Ackermann’s late period and exemplifies his sustained turn toward free, rhythmic colour composition. The acrylic painting balances geometric rigor with painterly gesture. Large, contrasting fields in turquoise, violet, green, and dark blue surround a central vertical element, at whose core a radiant orange appears like an inner glow. The layered rhythm of forms recalls architectural or even figural inflections while remaining fully within the vocabulary of abstraction.
The poetic subtitle "Garten der Hesperiden" opens a mythological resonance. In Greek myth the garden at the world’s edge promises golden apples of eternal youth, guarded by the evening nymphs, the Hesperides. Ackermann translates this ancient myth not into narration but into visual meditation. The abstracted, near-symbolic design invites the viewer into a mental landscape - less a real place than a state of inner equilibrium.
The painting is a characteristic statement of Ackermann’s pursuit of colour harmony that operates aesthetically and with spiritual depth. Clarity of form, expressive chroma, and subtle dynamism make it an outstanding document of his late oeuvre.