Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink drawing by Meret Oppenheim. It dates from 1931 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1931, this ink drawing by Meret Oppenheim is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Rendered in monochrome on paper, the composition depicts four suspended figures beneath a horizontal bar, accompanied by a small child holding a round object.
Subject & Meaning
The four hanging figures each display distinct attributes—a crowned individual, a person with straight hair, a disheveled form, and one wearing a mask—suggesting varied identities or roles. The child’s presence, rendered with an air of innocence, contrasts with the somber, almost ritualistic atmosphere of the scene.
Technique & Style
Executed entirely in ink, the work relies on stark black lines against the paper’s surface, eliminating color and focusing attention on line, contour, and negative space. The monochromatic palette heightens the drawing’s gravity and underscores the starkness of the figures’ arrangement.
History & Provenance
Meret Oppenheim completed the piece in the early 1930s, a period marked by her exploration of surrealist motifs. The drawing entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings, where it remains on view as part of the institution’s modern art collection.
Context
Produced during a time when Oppenheim was engaging with Surrealist ideas about the unconscious and the uncanny, the work reflects the era’s fascination with juxtaposing the familiar—here a child—with unsettling, symbolic imagery. Its formal restraint aligns with the period’s experimental approach to drawing as a vehicle for psychological inquiry.
Artist & collection
Artist
Meret Elisabeth Oppenheim was a German-born Swiss Surrealist artist and photographer.
