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Artist or Maker: Max Weber (1881-1961)

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Description: Max Weber (1881-1961)
Untitled (Women in a Landscape)
signed and dated 'Max Weber/1910' (lower right)
gouache and charcoal on paper
9½ x 6¼ in. (24.1 x 15.9 cm.)

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Provenance: The artist.
Mark and Mary Reed, Virginia, acquired from the above.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 1978.

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Notes: Untitled (Women in a Landscape) was executed in 1910, during Max Weber's crucial transitive period from 1909 to 1912, which "marked the end of his apprenticeship and his embarkation on the mature phase of his career." (P. North, Max Weber: The Cubist Decade 1910-1920, Atlanta, Georgia, 1991, p. 26)

The present work exhibits the continuing influence of primitive art on Weber's work as the women's facial features recall those in Meso-American and African masks and sculpture. As his style evolved the manifestation of this influence in Weber's art changed from an interest in the power of the simplicity to "a research in construction and geometric consistency." (H. Cahill, Max Weber, New York, 1930, p. 42)

The continued influence of the powerful angular elements and monumental stature of primitive art can be seen in Weber's Cubist work through the late 1910s. Works such as Untitled (Women in a Landscape) contain the seed of Weber's Cubist exploration, which he would continue to develop leading to the most prolific and successful decade of his career. The present work represents an integral stage in Weber's transition from his student years in Europe to the development of his mature style.