Who painted Untitled?

Untitled was painted by Jacques Charlier.

Where can I see Untitled?

Untitled is held by Museum of Modern Art.

Untitled by Jacques Charlier — Meaning & Museum

About this work

It’s not just a drawing—it’s mixed with handwritten notes and typewritten words, making it feel like a sketch and a score at once.

This black-and-white image shows an empty concert hall. Rows of identical seats face a stage with a piano and a few simple props. The walls are plain, and the lights hang from the ceiling like chandeliers. The stage curtains are drawn closed, and the whole space looks quiet and ready for a show.

The text at the bottom says it’s a "Symphonie 'Zone Absolue'" created by Jacques Charlier in 1970. It’s not just a drawing—it’s mixed with handwritten notes and typewritten words, making it feel like a sketch and a score at once.

Want to see more like this? Check out lithography to learn how artists print images like this.

Overview

Jacques Charlier’s 1970 untitled work is an offset lithograph that incorporates hand‑written and typewritten annotations. The monochrome image depicts an empty concert hall, its rows of uniform seats facing a stage equipped with a piano, minimal props, and closed curtains. Simple lighting fixtures hang from the ceiling, emphasizing the quiet, anticipatory atmosphere of a performance space awaiting an event.

Subject & Meaning

The composition presents a stark, unoccupied venue, inviting contemplation of absence and potential. By juxtaposing the visual representation of a concert hall with textual elements resembling a musical score, Charlier blurs the boundaries between visual art and musical notation, suggesting a silent symphony and prompting viewers to imagine the sounds that could fill the space.

Technique & Style

Created as an offset lithograph, the piece combines traditional printmaking with added layers of typewritten text and ballpoint pen markings. This mixed‑media approach yields a document‑like quality, where the precision of lithographic reproduction meets the immediacy of handwritten annotations, reinforcing the work’s conceptual focus on the intersection of visual and auditory documentation.

History & Provenance

The lithograph was produced in 1970 and is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Its acquisition by MoMA reflects the institution’s interest in works that explore the dialogue between different artistic media and the conceptual investigation of performance spaces within the visual arts.