HANNAH HÖCH (1889-1978)

Over the course of her artistic career, Hannah Höch nurtured a deep passion and enduring curiosity for the natural world. This fascination inspired a large number of floral subjects in her œuvre, from detailed reproductions capturing the intricate patterns and shapes of different blossoms, to abstract visions which revel in the rich colours and symbolic power of these organic forms. Created in 1931, the vibrant gouache and watercolour Pflanzen bei Nacht depicts a small group of brightly hued flowers clustered together atop a small hill, their leaves catching the light of the last golden rays of sun, just before it dips below the horizon. Gathering their vibrant petals inward in preparation for the long, dark night ahead, these blooms adopt a protective stance which, while rooted in natural processes of adaptation and evolution, ultimately hides their beauty. In both composition and colour palette, the painting is closely related to another watercolour from the same year, Pflanzen bei Regen (1931; Private Collection), where the flowers appear to brace themselves for an oncoming downpour, as heavy storm clouds gather above. Considered together, the two works may allude to the foreboding atmosphere sweeping Germany at this time, as the restrictive policies of the newly powerful Nazi party began to encroach upon the activities of the cultural avant-garde. As such, Höch could have seen these flowers, closing inwards for protection as they prepare to endure the sudden changes in their environment, as a model for how to face the oncoming turmoil of the 1930s, which loomed heavy and dark on the horizon.