Artwork Page for Illustration (Typhoon)

Details / Information for Illustration (Typhoon)

Illustration (Typhoon)

1914–1915
(British, 1889–1949)
Medium
woodcut
Measurements
Sheet: 31.3 x 27.7 cm (12 5/16 x 10 7/8 in.); Image: 29 x 25.4 cm (11 7/16 x 10 in.)
Credit Line
Catalogue raisonné
Colnaghi 115; Grennwood W/D 18; Adelphi 31; Bradford 21
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view

Description

From 1913 to 1919, Wadsworth was an exponent of Vorticism, an avant-garde movement in England that, like a vortex or whirling force, drew all the most positive innovative elements of the time into an energetic synthesis. This group of artists, which also included Windham Lewis, David Bomberg, and Christopher Nevinson, developed geometric styles that merged the spatial analysis of Cubism with the preoccupation with dynamic urban motifs and industrial landscapes celebrated by the Italian Futurists. The description of a ship's engine room in Joseph Conrad's novel Typhoon was the motivation for Illustration. The topic was a natural choice for Wadsworth, who was interested in both machinery and the sea.
A vertically oriented woodcut print in black ink on cream paper features a dense arrangement of geometric shapes. Bold diagonal bands sweep from the left toward the center, intersecting with vertical blocks and striped rectangular forms. Small white dots create grid patterns within black sections at the top and bottom right. Sharp angles and overlapping planes fill the composition, creating a sense of fragmented depth. A signature is inscribed at the bottom right.

Illustration (Typhoon)

1914–1915

Edward Alexander Wadsworth

(British, 1889–1949)
England, 20th century

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