General good condition, with a tear at the top left that is not visible from the front view, as it is hidden by the Marie Louise, and also a small hole the size of a pin in the middle of the invisible drawing. This artwork comes from a part of the studio's inventory that was in a drawing box; see attached photo, other works are available in my shop of 1930s abstractions and drawings from the Art Brut period after the 1950s. ⸻ Artwork description This piece by Jeanne Kosnick-Kloss, created in the 1930s, is a gouache on paper measuring approximately 23 × 17 cm. It features an abstract composition centered around a dynamic circular shape, painted on a rectangular sheet. The use of gouache, with its matte and dense finish, enhances the intensity of the colors and the vibrancy of the shapes. The composition reflects formal explorations regarding rhythm and visual balance, linked to the geometric abstraction explorations of the time. The artwork is signed in the lower right corner with the initials "K. K." and bears a workshop stamp on the back, guaranteeing its authenticity. This piece is fully representative of Kosnick-Kloss's abstract period, influenced by her exchanges with Parisian avant-garde circles and her artistic affinities with Sonia Delaunay. ⸻ Biography of Jeanne Kosnick-Kloss (1892 - after 1966) Jeanne Kosnick-Kloss, born in 1892, is a Franco-German artist whose work spans several major currents of modern art: abstraction, engaged art, and a freer vein, closer to Art Brut, in the last decades of her life. She is also known for her artistic and personal collaboration with Otto Freundlich, a key figure in spiritual abstraction. ⸻ ? Education and Early Years Few details are known about her initial training, but she was active in Paris as early as the 1920s. She frequented avant-garde circles, where she met Otto Freundlich, a sculptor and theorist of abstraction of German origin, with whom she shared her life and studio. She became an essential collaborator of Freundlich, contributing to his work and sharing his ideas on the universality of art and the spirituality of forms. ⸻ ? Abstract Period (1920s-1930s) In the 1930s, Kosnick-Kloss developed a rhythmic geometric abstraction influenced by constructivism, orphism (of Robert and Sonia Delaunay), and theories on color. She produced gouaches and drawings where the circle and spiral dominate, evoking cosmic harmony. She is in contact with Sonia Delaunay, with whom she shares a colorist sensitivity and an interest in integrating art into everyday life (clothes, textiles, objects). Although less known, Kosnick-Kloss is part of this female ecosystem of abstraction, often overshadowed by official history. ⸻ ? Political Engagement and Exile With the rise of Nazism, Kosnick-Kloss and Freundlich fled to southern France. Otto Freundlich, of Jewish origin and considered by the Nazis as a representative of "degenerate art," was arrested in 1943 and deported to Majdanek, where he was murdered. Jeanne survived the war and preserved the legacy of their shared work. Her post-war work, more free and intuitive, seems marked by this trauma. ⸻ ? Art Brut / Free Expression Period (1950s-1960s) In the 1950s-60s, Jeanne Kosnick-Kloss adopted a more spontaneous plastic writing, marked by irregular forms, primitive figures, and personal symbols. This vein aligns her with Art Brut or a form of naïve expressionism, in the lineage of Dubuffet. She continues a discreet yet coherent body of work, affirming a deeply personal aesthetic, on the fringes of dominant currents. ⸻ Legacy and Recognition Jeanne Kosnick-Kloss remains an unknown yet significant figure in European abstraction. Her work is inseparable from that of Otto Freundlich, of whom she was the artistic partner and guardian of memory after the war. She continues to be rediscovered through exhibitions dedicated to Freundlich or female abstraction. Type: Gouache Style: 1930 Genre: Abstract Characteristics: On Paper Theme: Abstract