Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a gouache drawing by Lucebert. It dates from 1965 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1965, this untitled work by Dutch poet‑artist Lucebert combines gouache with collaged paper on a gray support. It is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art and is classified as a drawing despite its painterly qualities.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a chaotic sky populated by large, irregular shapes in shades of blue, red, and brown. A stark black band, intersected by orange and white stripes, runs horizontally, evoking the silhouette of a vessel or an abstract creature. The juxtaposition of vivid color and ambiguous forms suggests a spontaneous, perhaps improvisational narrative.
Technique & Style
Lucebert employed opaque gouache, which yields flat, saturated tones, and adhered torn fragments of paper onto the gray ground. The resulting surface is textured, with uneven edges that emphasize the immediacy of the gesture. The collage elements break the pictorial plane, reinforcing the work’s rough, assembled appearance.
History & Provenance
The piece was produced in the mid‑1960s, a period when Lucebert was exploring mixed media beyond traditional poetry. It entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings through acquisition (date of purchase not specified), where it remains on view as part of the museum’s post‑war European collection.
Context
During the 1960s, European avant‑garde artists frequently merged painting, collage, and poetic expression. Lucebert’s untitled drawing reflects this interdisciplinary trend, aligning with contemporaneous experiments in materiality and the rejection of conventional representation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk, known professionally as Lucebert, was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement.
