The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Tondo , No. 12

Tondo , No. 12

1949
(American, 1899–1972)
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.)
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)
  • 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=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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