Who painted Untitled?

Untitled was painted by Cuno Amiet in 1950.

Where can I see Untitled?

Untitled is held by Museum of Modern Art.

Untitled by Cuno Amiet (1950) — Meaning & Museum

About this work

The lithograph (a printmaking method where you draw on stone) lets the lines feel alive, like quick sketches rather than polished work.

This is a black-and-white print of a woman’s face. Her features are soft, almost melting—eyes half-closed, lips slightly parted.

Amiet made this in 1950, late in his career, when he was playing with looser, more expressive lines. The lithograph (a printmaking method where you draw on stone) lets the lines feel alive, like quick sketches rather than polished work.

To see how other artists used loose lines in portraits, look up lithography.

Overview

Created in 1950, this lithograph by Swiss artist Cuno Amiet presents a monochrome portrait of a woman. The image is rendered in soft, fluid lines that give the facial features a slightly blurred, melting quality, with half‑closed eyes and a gently opened mouth. The work exemplifies Amiet’s late‑period interest in expressive drawing within the print medium.

Subject & Meaning

The composition focuses on a solitary female visage, its ambiguous expression inviting contemplation rather than narrative. The subdued gesture—eyes partially shut, lips barely parting—suggests an introspective or fleeting moment, emphasizing mood over detailed characterization. The lack of explicit symbolism aligns with Amiet’s broader aim to convey feeling through form and line.

Technique & Style

Executed as a lithograph, the image was produced by drawing directly onto a limestone surface, allowing the artist’s hand to remain visible in the final print. Amiet’s line work is loose and gestural, resembling rapid sketches rather than refined engraving. This approach imparts a sense of immediacy and vitality, characteristic of his later graphic experiments.

History & Provenance

The print was produced toward the end of Amiet’s career, a period marked by a shift toward freer drawing techniques. It entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of mid‑twentieth‑century European prints.

Context

Amiet, a central figure in modern Swiss art, consistently explored the expressive possibilities of color and line across painting, illustration, and printmaking. By the 1950s, his work had moved away from the more controlled compositions of his earlier years, embracing a more spontaneous visual language that paralleled contemporary developments in European lithography.

Artist & collection

Artist

Cuno Amiet

Cuno Amiet (28 March 1868 – 6 July 1961) was a Swiss painter, illustrator, graphic artist and sculptor. As the first Swiss painter to give precedence to colour in composition, he was a pioneer of modern art in Switzerland.