Günter Fruhtrunk

Jardin de Monastère, Étude No. 6, 1962

“The status of pictures is not decided by externals that can be named, but is revealed in the profound excitement of rhythm, measure and sound.” (G.F.) These words could have been written about Fruhtrunk’s Jardin de Monastère, Etude No. 6, 1962, of which eight versions exist – in different formats and materials. The way the square parallel grids slide into each other is reminiscent of Georges Braque’s cubically splintered pictorial structure; the diagonally dynamized movement connects to Malevich and Lissitzky; linking narrow and wide stripes make us think of piano keys, reinforced by the word ‘Étude’ added to the title, and refer to a musical structure; finally the recurring square module evokes the idea of the austerely geometrically disposed square of a monastery garden, with beds, paths and arcades running into each other.