Arrangement - Hieroglyphics (Painting No. 2)

Hartley applied oil paint with direct, assertive brushwork, emphasizing flat planes and sharp contours. The palette is dominated by red, yellow, and white, accented by muted blue and green, creating a sense of luminous tension. Forms are simplified into geometric units, arranged with rhythmic repetition. The composition avoids perspective, instead relying on layered shapes and contrasting hues to generate movement and spatial ambiguity, aligning with early abstract tendencies in modernist painting.

Painted during Hartley’s stay in Berlin, the work emerged from his immersion in German military culture and avant-garde circles. It was likely completed before his return to the United States in 1915. The painting entered the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s collection in 1949 through a bequest, becoming one of the earliest American abstract works in their holdings. Its provenance reflects Hartley’s shifting artistic identity and the growing institutional recognition of modernist experimentation.

Created on the eve of World War I, the painting responds to the militaristic symbolism and spiritual fervor Hartley observed in Berlin. His interest in Germanic iconography, including military medals and religious emblems, merged with influences from Cubism and Expressionism. Unlike European contemporaries, Hartley infused his abstractions with personal and cultural references, bridging the gap between European modernism and emerging American artistic voices seeking new forms of expression.

Arrangement - Hieroglyphics (Painting No. 2) stands as an early example of American abstraction that prioritizes symbolic resonance over representation. It influenced later generations of artists exploring non-objective forms rooted in personal or cultural codes. Its presence in a major American museum helped legitimize abstract painting in the U.S. during a period when such work was still met with skepticism, cementing Hartley’s role in the transition toward modern American art.