Rating and value of paintings by Emil Schumacher

If you own a work by or based on the work of artist Emil Schumacher and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will guide you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with an accurate estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, should you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Artist's rating and value

Considered one of the pioneers of German informal painting, Emil Schumacher exhibited widely during his lifetime. His reputation and presence on the art market are therefore already immense.

Today, his value continues to rise, and the artist is establishing himself as a sure bet on the art market.

A work by Schumacher can fetch millions of euros at auction, as evidenced by his oil on canvas Für Berlin,dating from 1957, fetched €450,000 in 2020 whereas it was estimated at between €100,000 and €150,000, more than four times the low estimate.

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Style and technique of Emil Schumacher

Emil Schumacher is a pioneer of informal art in Germany. He uses thick pictorial layers (impasto) applied with a spatula or broad brush, often mixed with mineral fillers, sand, or other non-traditional materials to achieve tactile relief and a quasi-sculptural surface.

He applies color energetically and spontaneously, favoring the free gesture derived from European informel, with an emphasis on arm movement and gestural dynamics as constitutive elements of composition.

Through his chromatic palette, he makes contrasting use of saturated colors (ochres, ferruginous reds, deep blues) and earthy tones, which he often works in superimposition to create optical saturation effects.

There's an absence of illusionistic perspective in the compositional structure, with an organization of the surface according to a logic of interlocking planes and overlapping color fields, thus emphasizing the flatness of the support.

He frequently integrates mixed techniques (oil paint, acrylic, pure pigments, collages of fabric or paper), reinforcing the visual and material complexity of the works).

He maintains a close relationship with calligraphy, with the presence of signs, tracings and marks close to gestural calligraphy, but devoid of an explicit narrative function, playing a plastic and rhythmic role. The artist applies a deliberate patina through scratching, rubbing and partial tearing of the material, creating a controlled erosion effect that gives the work an archaeological, even timeless dimension.

The artist shows a preference for large-scale formats, reinforcing the immersive impact and physical perception of the painted material.

The life of Emil Schumacher

Emil Schumacher (1912 - 1999) was a German painter who is famous for his contribution to informal art.

Born on August 29, 1912 in Hagen (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), he trained at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Dortmund from 1932 to 1935, where he studied graphics, drawing and craft techniques.

First working as a freelance graphic artist in the 1930s, he was mobilized during the Second World War and wounded, interrupting his artistic production during the conflict.

From 1945, he returned to painting, developing a style marked by expressive figuration before moving towards abstraction, and his first local exhibitions took place in Hagen and Osnabrück from the late 1940s.

In 1947, he co-founded the Junger Wester group in Recklinghausen, uniting young post-war German artists around a desire for pictorial renewal.

From the mid-1950s onwards, he took a turn towards informality, adopting a gestural, matierist pictorial language close to French Art Informel and Tachisme, thereby participating in Germany's integration into post-war international artistic debates.

He exhibited at Documenta II in 1959, Documenta III in Kassel, and the Venice Biennale in 1962. His works are acquired by major European and American museums.

He also pursues an academic career, being appointed Professor at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg (1958 - 1960), then at the Karlruhe Academy of Fine Arts (1966 - 1977), then Visiting Professor at the Mineapolis Academy of Fine Arts (1967) and the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts (1978).

He traveled to many countries, including Spain, Italy, Morocco and Egypt, all of which influenced his palette and gestures, encouraging him to explore effects of light and matter inspired by Mediterranean and Saharan landscapes.

In his final years, he pursued an abundant output between 1980 and 1990, and his late works are characterized by increased monumentality and brighter color.

He died in San José (Ibiza, Spain) and is buried in Hagen, his hometown, which preserves an important archive and collection of works.

Market segmentation and artist's quotation

Emil Schumacher presents a high and stable quotation. On the market, the general range of realized prices extends from USD 10 to USD 681,300, which speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works, depending on size, technique and rarity.

Für Berlin, for example, sold for €562,500, Räumliche Trennung went for €375,000, while Alf I fetched €306,250 (price with fees).

Large-format paintings or iconic works sold for between €200,000 and €600,000, with frequent peaks achieved in the six-figure range. Classical works (oils, small formats) generally fetch between €40,000 and €120,000, with Tamalan going for €317,200.

Works on paper and gouaches sell for between €8,000 and €30,000, depending on complexity, condition and provenance. Prints and editions, meanwhile, fetch more modest prices, ranging from €200 to €12,000.

More than 2,900 works by the artist have been sold at auction to date, and the market is strongly segmented according to medium : painting on canvas dominates in value, while prints remain affordable.

The record price in excess of 600,000 USD places Schumacher among the most highly-rated contemporary German artists of the post-war period.

Comparatively, other European informal figures such as Karel Appel, Hans Hartung, Jean Degottex or Pierre Soulages, often achieve similar prices, sometimes slightly higher depending on the provenance of the works and their documentary importance.

His signature

Although there are variations, here is a first example of his signature :

Our team remains at your disposal to identify your works.

Expertise your property

If you own a work by Emil Schumacher, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal by filling in our online form.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you to provide an estimate of the market value of your work.

If you are considering selling your work, our specialists will also guide you through the various alternatives available to obtain the best possible price, taking into account market trends and the specific features of each work.