The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 15, 2024

Tondo , No. 12

Tondo , No. 12

1949
(American, 1899–1972)
America, 20th century
oil on masonite panel
Framed: 46.5 x 45.5 x 6.5 cm (18 5/16 x 17 15/16 x 2 9/16 in.); Diameter: 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.)
Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1967.4
Location: not on view

Description

Through his close friendship with Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), Fritz Glarner evolved an aesthetic philosophy he called "Relational Painting," expanding his colleague's pursuit of pure form, color, and dynamic equilibrium. Moving beyond the balanced vertical and horizontal compositions of Mondrian, Glarner introduced a slightly slanted line into his rectangles. The result was two forms related to but different from a rectangle, which together made a unique form. The slanted line also added a subtle feeling of motion, or dynamism, to the composition. By working in a tondo, or circular format, Glarner further unified the forms within his painting by making them all share a segment of the circle's circumference. The patterns of red, yellow, and blue that advance and recede, and the delicate gradations of gray, black, and white, set up a rhythm and add depth to the space.
  • G. David Thompson; (B. C. Holland Gallery, Paris)
  • “Year in Review.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 10 (December 1967): 302–346. Mentioned: p. 346, no. 135; Reproduced: p. 329 www.jstor.org
    Diller, Burgoyne, Leon Polk Smith, and Edward B. Henning. “Two New Paintings in the Neo-Plastic Tradition.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 4 (April 1975): 106–119. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 106-107, fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    Neet, Jane. “Mondrian’s ‘Chrysanthemum.’” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 7 (September 1987): 282–303. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 286, fig. 6 www.jstor.org
    Sims, Lowery Stokes. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 32-33, no. 86
  • The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).
    MOCA Cleveland (6/9/2006 - 8/20/2006): "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art", no. 86, p. 121, color repr. p. 33.
    Mondrian and American Abstraction. Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (March 31-May 13, 1973).
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Tondo , No. 12|url=false|author=Fritz Glarner|year=1949|access-date=15 September 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1967.4