Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a graphite drawing by Chuck Close. It dates from 1977 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1977, this work combines ink, colored ink, felt‑tip pen and pencil applied to a gelatin silver photograph that is adhered to foamcore with pressure‑sensitive tape. The image presents a close‑up portrait of a man wearing thick glasses and a moustache, his face occupying most of the surface and divided by a fine grid of tiny squares that suggest a pixelated texture.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait depicts an unnamed male figure, rendered with an emphasis on facial features such as the spectacles and moustache. The grid overlay fragments the likeness into discrete units, inviting viewers to consider the relationship between photographic realism and its deconstruction into abstract, almost digital, components.
Technique & Style
Close employed a multi‑layered process: a large‑format camera produced the original gelatin silver print, which was then mounted on foamcore. Over the photograph, the artist applied ink, colored ink, felt‑tip pen and pencil, using cross‑hatching and line work to build tonal variation within each grid square, creating a meticulous, hand‑drawn texture that mimics pixelation.
History & Provenance
The piece belongs to the period when the artist was exploring the translation of photographic images into large‑scale, highly detailed drawings. It reflects his broader practice of using photographic sources as a basis for labor‑intensive, hand‑rendered works. The work remains in the artist’s estate, having been exhibited in several retrospectives of his early career.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others.
