Futuristic Cityscape by Konrad Zuse, 1991

Oil on canvas, signed on lower-right side "K. Zuse 91", 23 3/5 x 31 ½ in., 26 1/3 x 34 ¼ in. framed. - Konrad Zuse (1910-1995), civil engineer, artist and pioneer of information technology, is widely recognized as the inventor of the first programmable electro-mechanical computer. Born in Berlin in 1910, Zuse studied architecture and engineering at the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg 1927-1935. - The young Zuse began designs for a computer as early as 1934. His first project, the "Z1", a mechanical calculator that read instructions from 35mm film, was completed in 1938. The "Z2" followed in 1940, succeeded by the revolutionary "Z3", the first programmable calculator with memory and a calculation unit based on telephone relays, in May 1941. Groundbreaking research into machine code resulted in the first high-level programming language, "Plankalkül", written for a computer. - Zuse's sense of form and space found only partial expression through his mathematical work. An early interest in design included drawing, photography and the Expressionist movement. The attempt to define space in all its concrete and abstract elements became a guiding principle. In his 1969 discourse, "Rechnender Raum" ("Calculating Space"), Zuse visualized the cosmos as a giant computer that could not be influenced externally. Zuse's autobiography describes how architecture appealed to his artistic side like a "tantalising mirage" while his profession represented "the ideal combination of artist and engineer". His controlled abstract works and urban landscapes, with titles such as "Stadtvision" ("Vision of a City"), "Kosmischer Raum" ("Cosmic Space") and "Bestrahlte Architektur" ("Irradiated Architecture"), show Zuse's preoccupation with space as a physical as well as a theoretical concept. - By 1962 the 52-year-old Zuse was devoting ever more time to his art, working in oils, watercolor and chalk. Later paintings were signed with the pseudonym "Kuno See", in order, as he wrote in 1988, to "make a clear distinction between my main work, computer development and information technology, and my artistic activities". - Konrad Zuse's status as the grandfather of information technology was cemented at the 1994 IFIP Congress (International Federation for Information Processing) in Hamburg with the presentation of his twelve chalk portraits of German computing pioneers. At CeBit '95 fair in Hannover the following year, he presented this portrait to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, commenting: "I admire Bill Gates as a successful business man but I do not envy him. His successes have required a resolute dedication. The responsibility is high and the well-being of the economy and of the United States depends ever more on the quality of the software in the most diverse of areas". - Zuse's work is to be found in national German collections, including the Konrad Zuse Museum in Hünfeld, the Astronomisch-Physikalisches Kabinett in Kassel and the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Münster. - Accompanied by the book "Der Computer - Mein Lebenswerk", Konrad Zuse, 1984, with original dedication from Konrad Zuse 10.11.1993.

布雷克拍品等级是为了方便竞买人判断拍卖品的成色而设置的。布雷克等级用1到6级来标注外观和功能的成色，(从非常好到非常差)。 在目录图册里用括号里的2个数字来表示，前一个数字表示外观成色的级别，后一个数字表示功能成色的级别。如(3/2)表示外观成色是3(满意的)，功能成色2(好)。 成色 定义参照下列标准： 1 - 非常好 (未使用过，没有使用痕迹) 2 - 好 (新，极少的使用痕迹) 3 - 满意的 (普通的使用痕迹) 4 - 及格的 (明显的使用痕迹，某个非主要部件是后配的) 5 - 有缺陷的 (极明显的使用痕迹, 某个主要部件是后配的，功能上有缺陷，需要修理) 6 - 非常差 (严重破损, 缺少重要部件)