Color Chalks over ball pen. Inscribed "Leider nicht mehr als eine Idee" on the reverse. On firm wove paper. 10.7 x 14.7 cm. , the full sheet.
With a birthday card, inscribed by the artist “Viel [sic!] herzliche Glückwünsche und Alles Gute!” as well as with an envelope inscribed with the address of Emy Schmidt-Rottluff "1 Berlin - 37 / Schützallee 136". Post stamp, Berlin, dated January 26, 1976 [CH]. The work is registered in the Hermann Gerlinger Collection under the number 304a.
- Great expressiveness in a small format. - In a particularly creative way, the artist allows the flowers to emerge from the open spaces of the intense areas of color and only adds a few outlines and details at the end. - In Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's late work, the artist devoted himself increasingly to his immediate surroundings and the “quiet life of things” (quote from Karl Schmidt-Rottluff). - Alongside landscapes, flower still lifes became the defining motif of the period. - In the mid-1960s, Schmidt-Rottluff had to give up oil painting for health reasons; the inscription on the reverse - “Unfortunately no more than an idea” - may therefore indicate his regret about not being able to execute the composition in oil.
The work is documented in the archive of the Karl and Emy Schmidt-Rottluff Foundation, Berlin.