Lucebert - Rare early work, signed, 1946

Very early work by Lucebert, signed & dated 1946, created two years before the founding of CoBrA. This places the drawing in his formative, pre-CoBrA period — a historically important phase in which his visual language was still rooted in figuration and medieval-inspired imagery.


Unique and rare double signature : "Lucebert Swaanswijk" - illustrative of his transition and evolution to Lucebert CoBrAs oeuvre.


The composition depicts a skeletal violinist (Death) confronting a seated musician — a classic Danse Macabre theme. The work reveals Lucebert’s early fascination with religious and existential symbolism, reflecting the immediate post-war atmosphere of Europe.

Executed in confident black ink with precise cross-hatching, the drawing shows strong Northern-European graphic influence while already anticipating the intensity and psychological charge that would later define his CoBrA works.

Signed and dated 1946 (visible in margin).

Why this work matters
 • Documented pre-CoBrA period (1946)
 • Early development of Lucebert’s figurative and symbolic vocabulary
 • Strong post-war existential subject matter
 • Signed and dated

An important and collectible early example by one of the Netherlands’ most influential post-war artists.