PlateIV from the suite of eight plates entitled White Line Squares
Print
1966 (printed)
1966 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Josef Albers became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century avant-garde. He worked in a variety of media but has become widely recognised through his later printed work, based on the exploration of colour.
In 1949 he wrote a definitive text on colour theory and soon after began work on the series of coloured squares and rectangles which came to dominate his work and which explored the idea of colour as an illusion, depending on context. "We do not see colours as they really are" he wrote "in our perception they alter one another" Although he began his experiments in this field with paint, he came to depend on the planographic print processes, particularly screen-print, because through them consistent evenness of colour could be produced easily and with great speed.
In 1949 he wrote a definitive text on colour theory and soon after began work on the series of coloured squares and rectangles which came to dominate his work and which explored the idea of colour as an illusion, depending on context. "We do not see colours as they really are" he wrote "in our perception they alter one another" Although he began his experiments in this field with paint, he came to depend on the planographic print processes, particularly screen-print, because through them consistent evenness of colour could be produced easily and with great speed.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | PlateIV from the suite of eight plates entitled White Line Squares (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | Josef Albers:Colour lithograph Plate IV from the series White Line Squares. 1966 |
| Physical description | A set of squares nesting one within another. The innemost square is a brownish red and can be seen in its entirety. It nests within a square which is of a slightly paler toned red. This paler red square nests within a brown square. On this outer square is a superimposed square defined as a line drawing rather than a solid mass. It is drawn as a thin white line. The effect is to make the brown on one side of the white line appear tonally different (albeit very subtley) from the brown on the other side. The squares are nesting so that the margins at the top and sides are wider than those at the base |
| Dimensions |
|
| Styles | |
| Production type | Limited edition |
| Copy number | 111/125 |
| Marks and inscriptions | A '66
W-L-S VI 111-125 (signed with the artist's monogram, dated, inscribed with initials of title and number; all in pencil.) |
| Credit line | Given by the Josef Albers Foundation |
| Summary | Josef Albers became one of the most influential figures of the 20th century avant-garde. He worked in a variety of media but has become widely recognised through his later printed work, based on the exploration of colour. In 1949 he wrote a definitive text on colour theory and soon after began work on the series of coloured squares and rectangles which came to dominate his work and which explored the idea of colour as an illusion, depending on context. "We do not see colours as they really are" he wrote "in our perception they alter one another" Although he began his experiments in this field with paint, he came to depend on the planographic print processes, particularly screen-print, because through them consistent evenness of colour could be produced easily and with great speed. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic reference | Catalogue Raisonne: Nicolas Fox Weber [Ed.] and Brenda Danilowitz|: The Prints of Josef Albers. Connecticut, NewHaven, 2006. Cat. no.171.4 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.57-1994 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | February 27, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
