Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Bernard Schultze. It dates from 1974 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled, created in 1974, is a print by German artist Bernard Schultze that belongs to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The work is part of a larger portfolio that includes a variety of print techniques, ranging from etching and lithography to screenprinting and woodcut.
Subject & Meaning
The central image consists of an abstracted, blurred facial form rendered in deep reds and blues, its contours appearing to dissolve into surrounding gestural marks. Peripheral shapes suggest ambiguous gestures—perhaps hands or wings—adding a sense of movement and transformation to the composition.
Technique & Style
Schultze combined several printmaking processes in the portfolio, employing etching, aquatint, drypoint, engraving, lithography, collotype, screenprinting, embossing, flocking, stencil work, and woodcut. The print’s layered textures and uneven edges reflect a hand‑driven approach, emphasizing the materiality of the medium.
History & Provenance
The piece was produced in 1974 and entered the Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly thereafter, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s holdings of post‑war European printmaking.
Context
Created during a period when Schultze explored non‑representational forms and experimental print techniques, the work aligns with the broader trends of abstract expressionism and the resurgence of interest in mixed‑media prints in the 1970s.
Artist & collection
Artist
Bernard Schultze was a German abstract painter who co-founded the Quadriga group of artists along with Karl Otto Götz and two other artists. On 7 July 1955 he married another painter named Ursula Bluhm.
