Relief H

Schlemmer conceived this work, one of the first and most well-known of the artist's sculptural oeuvre, in 1919, a year which marked a turning point in both his life and work. Returning from the front in the autumn of 1918, Schlemmer was confronted with the political and artistic conflicts of the Stuttgarter Akademie. Elected to be the student representative of the academy, he battled, in vain, to implement reform within the academy, and bring about the nomination of Paul Klee as successor to Adolf Hoelzel. Unsuccessful, he united with other students, notably Baumeister, to create the Uecht Gruppe, a reunion of avant-garde artists. The artistic orientations of the members varied, reflecting influences which ranged from Expressionism through Cubism to Futurism. Amongst them, Schlemmer's strong tectonic shapes stood out from all other works.

Schlemmer created five reliefs during 1919, including the present work. The essence of Schlemmer's style, with its cold and pure geometric forms and its monochrome colour scheme was already established and automatically identifiable. He experimented with this form in different techniques, including one work, now lost, constructed of wood and glass. Another gilded version was formerly in the Sammlung und Archiv für Künstler der Breslauer Akademie, Kassel, which also held in its collection one of the six plaster versions of Relief H cast in 1950 by Adolf Oexle, Stuttgart. Another of these casts is in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (Depositum Schlemmer, Inv. No. PL191).