Jackson Pollock. Circle. c. 1938-41

Jackson Pollock Circle c. 1938-41

  • Not on view

This painting incorporates imagery from a range of sources. For example, the serpent was a symbol widely used in Mesoamerican and Native American art, and in the work of Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco, all of which Pollock was studying in these years. The painting's round format may relate to the theories of the Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung, passed to the artist by therapists who treated his alcoholism. Circle resembles a mandala, which, in Jungian terms, is a universal symbol that denotes the psyche and can be a means to access the unconscious.

Gallery label from Jackson Pollock: A Collection Survey, 1934-1954, November 22, 2015–May 1, 2016.
Medium
Oil on board
Dimensions
12 3/4 x 12" (32.2 x 30.5 cm)
Credit
Gift of Lee Krasner in memory of Jackson Pollock
Object number
424.1980
Copyright
© 2023 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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