Hans Hartung

Do you have a piece by Hans Hartung in your possession and would like to know its value? Our Experts will carry out a free appraisal of your piece, provide you with an estimate of the market price, and then help you to sell at the best possible price.

Status, estimation and price of the artist Hans Hartung

Price of a painting: 26,000 – 120,000 €.

Price of a drawing: 3,000 – 113,000 €.

Estimation of a print: 180 – 1,000 €.

Price of a photograph: 200 – 5,700 €.

If you would like to have a Hans Hartung work appraised, our experts will take care of everything.

Painter and traveller

Hans Hartung was a French painter of German origin. He was born on 21 September 1904 in Leipzig and died on 7 December 1989 in Antibes. He was the father of Tachism and great pioneer of abstract art.

He studied at the Fine Arts School in Munich, then met Anna-Eva Bergman in Paris in 1928, when they were both there for their studies. They married a year later and set off to discover Europe, particularly Italy by bicycle, as well as the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.

Seeing the rise of Nazism, he joined the list of volunteers against Hitlerism in the event of war in 1939. That same year, despite his declared opposition to the regime, he was arrested, as were a number of German citizens on French territory. Once free, Hans enlisted in the Foreign Legion where after an injury he had to have his right leg amputated.

He received several distinctions during his career as Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour and Commander of Arts and Letters.

The leader in Lyric Abstraction

Amazed by photography and astronomy, he built his own telescope as a child. His youthful passion can be seen in some of his works.

The young man learnt to paint by copying certain works, simplifying them to finally modify them and retain only the colours.

Initially fascinated by Rembrandt, Goya and Le Greco, he later turned to German expressionists such as Emil Nolde.

Hartung went on to paint watercolours and abstract canvases, and the famous Ink Spots.

Eventually, he worked on larger formats with acrylic paint. He learnt to use branches, combs and even brooms to innovate his painting. In 1968, Hans and his wife moved to Antibes to live in the house he designed and built.

In 1994, to respect the wish expressed by Hans Hartung and Anna-Eva Bergman in the 1960s, a foundation bearing their names was established.

Hans Hartung’s 1947 work Peinture N° 10 “T47.10” sold for 1.35 million euros in November 2015 in Drouot. According to the Parisian art dealer Franck Prazan, it is “a masterpiece that has no equivalent and therefore no price”. However, the painting was not part of the great retrospective of 1969 that took place at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.

Recognising Hans Hartung’s signature

Like many artists, Hartung did not sign all of his works. However, you will find below an example of the signatures to give you an idea. Variations of these signatures do exist, do not hesitate to contact one of our experts to formally authenticate a signature.

Appraising and selling a piece by Hans Hartung

If you own a piece by Hans Hartung or any other object, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your piece. In the context of a possible sale, our specialists will also advise you on the different options available to sell your work at the best price.