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Cubist Composition (Black Center)

Artist Albert Gleizes (French, 1881–1953)
Title Cubist Composition (Black Center) (Composition cubiste (Centre Noir))
Plate Number Plate 3
Series Die Schaffenden
Date 1921
Medium Lithograph on paper
Dimensions Image: 14 1/4 x 10 1/2 in. (36.2 x 26.7 cm)
Sheet: 16 1/8 x 12 1/8 in. (41 x 30.8 cm)
Credit Line Collection of Diether Thimme, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 98.339

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About this Work

Although a vocal proponent of the radical new style of Cubism, Albert Gleizes turned in his later career towards a more abstract approach that strove for a purity of form over a fractured analysis of volume. This "flat pattern" Cubism (or Purism) sought the "Platonic" essence of an object as its goal. Beauty and harmony were found in simple geometric patterns, proportions, and color. An interest in classical theorems, such as the "golden section," encouraged the inclusion of antique motifs. While this composition may suggest a seated model, her twisting torso and truncated limbs also evoke the idea of Venus de Milo.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

Plate Number Plate 3
Series Title Die Schaffenden

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"Cubist Composition (Black Center) | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=98.339