Artwork Page for Mallarme's Swan

Details / Information for Mallarme's Swan

Mallarme's Swan

1944

Robert Motherwell

(American, 1915–1991)
Culture
America
Medium
collage using gouache, crayon and paper on cardboard
Measurements
Unframed: 110.5 x 90.2 cm (43 1/2 x 35 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1961.229
Copyright
© Dedalus Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Robert Motherwell originally titled this work Mallarme's Dream, but artist Joseph Cornell suggested changing it to its present version.

Description

This drawing is one of several works that Robert Motherwell made in tribute to the French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898). A member of the New York School, Motherwell stood out among his contemporaries for his literary references within a movement that otherwise favored pure abstraction. He worked in collage, the process used here, for much of his career, expressively tearing and layering paper and everyday materials.
A vertically oriented abstract collage of gouache and paper features muted blue panels framed by thick, streaking yellow stripes. At top center, a brown cutout with an arched base sits above a central yellow pillar. To our left, a tan oval floats, while a cream rectangle stands right. Below, dark blotches mark a tan square above a thin black circle. A slender white form rests against the far right stripe.

Mallarme's Swan

1944

Robert Motherwell

(American, 1915–1991)
America

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