Untitled I
In Untitled I, Twombly focuses on the physical process of mark-making, highlighting through exaggeration the rhythmic quality of the gesture. Despite mimicking script, the looped, linear forms convey neither information nor narrative, thus turning writing into an abstraction. The dark palette evokes a blackboard (a reference the artist also explored in paintings during this period), an effect achieved by layering black ink over white before printing the etched plate. The allover composition and fluid lines recall works by Abstract Expressionists, yet the regularity and repetition of both horizontal bands and looped forms reject such influence. Unlike clearly articulated, finely modeled calligraphic marks, Twombly’s loosely drawn forms show variations in structure, size, and tone, the latter of which he encouraged by using the open bite etching technique.
Artwork Details
- Title: Untitled I
- Artist: Cy Twombly (American, Lexington, Virginia 1928–2011 Rome)
- Publisher: Published by Universal Limited Art Editions
- Date: 1967 (1967–74, dated 1967)
- Medium: Open-bite etching with aquatint
- Dimensions: plate: 23 1/2 x 28 3/16 in. (59.7 x 71.6 cm)
sheet: 27 5/8 x 40 7/16 in. (70.2 x 102.7 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: John B. Turner Fund, 1974
- Object Number: 1974.657.6
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Multiple artists/makers
1952
Multiple artists/makers
1967–75
Multiple artists/makers
1968
Multiple artists/makers
1967–75
Multiple artists/makers
1967–75
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