Apr 25, 2006
Feb 29, 2008

Tares

Tares

1952

Gustave Baumann

(American, born Germany, 1881–1971)

Color woodcut

Support: Beckett wove paper

Image: 15.3 x 32 cm (6 x 12 5/8 in.); Sheet: 43.2 x 36.5 cm (17 x 14 3/8 in.)

Gift of Ann Baumann 2005.447

Catalogue raisonné: Chamberlain 186

Location

Description

In a close-up view of flowers gone to seed, Baumann captures the sensation of slender, freestanding, resilient stalks floating in a breeze. Intricate carving of the woodblocks describes the delicacy and beauty of a common weed. The tiny yellow flowers dry and shrivel while the downy white spheres dissolve and the wind scatters the seeds. An image of transience, Tares symbolizes regeneration and the cycles of nature. At the end of his career, Baumann reduced the number of blocks to carve. Only four blocks were used for Tares so that design, rather than color, is responsible for the success of the image.

See also
Collection: 
PR - Woodcut
Department: 
Prints
Type of artwork: 
Print
Medium: 
Color woodcut
Credit line: 
Gift of Ann Baumann

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.