Very good condition.
Estate stamp and a dedication by Anneliese Itten to Willy Rotzler on the verso.
Dedication: W. Rotzler mit Dank für die Rede in Rapperswil Am 21. Okt. 1967 Anneliese Itten. (W. Rotzler with thanks for the speech in Rapperswil on October 21, 1967, Anneliese Itten).

Born in Switzerland, Johannes Itten (1888-1967) was an expressionist painter, professor and leading color theorist. Itten studied art in Geneva under the abstract painter Eugène Gilliard (1861-1921). Following this, Itten became a teacher at the Bauhaus, a celebrated German art school. Whilst at Bauhaus, Itten pioneered color theory and radical creative teaching practices. Itten explored the emotional, phycological, and scientific aspects of color, commenting that “to become a master of color [you] must see, feel, and experience each individual color in its many endless combinations with all other colors”. After leaving Bauhaus in 1923, Itten continued to explore concepts about color, publishing the influential book “The Art of Color” in 1961. Itten’s contribution to color theory is immense, with the artist-author being cited as the inspiration for the popular seasonal color analysis.

Completed after the success of the book, Collage with color samples and watercolor is evocative of Itten’s later career. Itten’s later work is defined by an exploration of separate geometric forms in various color tones and hues that create harmonious compositions as a whole. These works encapsulate Itten’s aforementioned methodology to master color by utilizing limited color palettes in a variety of endless tonalities. With its estate stamp and dedication by Anneliese Itten, this is a unique piece that represents Itten’s global impact on how we understand color in our world today.

Donated by Anneliese Itten to Willy Rotzler, Hausen am Albis
Koller Auctions, Switzerland, December 8, 2018
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

“Johannes Itten, Werke und Schriften”, Orell Füssle Verlag, Zurich, 1972, no. 1139