Robert Motherwell Paintings and Collages: A Catalogue Raisonné 1941 – 1991 Volume 3 - Flipbook - Page 365
c761
prints, as well as lithographically reproduced sheet music and other papers.
The proofs from his own prints are
sometimes printed on grounds that
have different colors than those in the
published editions.
In this first collage in the series,
Motherwell incorporates proofs
from his 1986 Alphabet Series, which
was the model for the technique he
employed in the Red and Black collages.
But while the works in the Alphabet
Series were classified as “unique prints,”
Motherwell considered those in the
Red and Black series to be collages. (It
appears, however, that when Motherwell
began the Red and Black series, he considered the works in it to be “unique
collage prints”; see the Comments for
c814.) The sheet music in this collage is
from Arthur Berger’s Trio for Guitar,
Violin, and Piano (1972), which
Motherwell also used in other works
at this time.
In 1988, after the collage elements
in the Red and Black series were composed, Motherwell returned to many
of the compositions and embellished
them with gestural brushstrokes
painted with thinned etching ink.
In addition to being signed by hand,
the works in the Red and Black series
were also stamped with Motherwell’s
embossed studio seal at their lower
right corners.
The series title may refer to the
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo’s celebrated production of Rouge et Noir (Red
and Black), with costumes designed
by Matisse, the June 1939 premiere of
which Motherwell attended in Paris.
It may also be meant to “represent
antagonistic forces,” as in Stendahl’s
1822 novel Le Rouge et le Noir (see
Pleynet 1989b, p. 195).
c762
c761
c762
The Red and Black No. 2
The Red and Black No. 3
1987–88
Oil-based etching ink, pasted papers,
and aquatint on paper
31½ x 25 in. (80 x 63.5 cm)
1987–88
Oil-based etching ink, pasted papers,
and aquatint on paper
31½ x 25 in. (80 x 63.5 cm)
inscriptions
Recto, lower right: Motherwell 87
inscriptions
Recto, lower right: Motherwell 87
artist’s studio number
c87-3382
artist’s studio number
c87-3383
present owner
Dedalus Foundation
present owner
Dedalus Foundation
provenance
Dedalus Foundation, 1991
provenance
Dedalus Foundation, 1991
comments
This collage includes fragments of a
1985 aquatint, Wanderers, and of proofs
from the 1986 Alphabet Series (Engberg
and Banach 2003, nos. 364 and 375).
Motherwell added the painted black
brush marks at the left center in 1988.
comments
This collage includes a fragment of a
1985 print, Wanderers (Engberg and
Banach 2003, no. 364). Motherwell
added the painted black brush marks
in 1988.
co lla ges
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