Kerry James Marshall Study for Vignette 2004

  • Not on view

Marshall's Vignette series continues his exploration of the representation of the black figure in art. The artist works in traditional pictorial genres, explicitly referencing various artistic styles and techniques as a part of his critical investigation of the pretensions of art history. In this study for a painting, a couple is posed in a loving embrace in an idyllic landscape, encircled by large, cartoonish pink hearts, a reference to the frivolity and sentimentality that characterizes eighteenth-century French Rococo painting. Deploying nostalgia, Marshall meditates on beauty, love, romance, and harmony in the black experience.

Gallery label from Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, April 22, 2009–January 4, 2010.
Medium
Crayon, charcoal, gouache, and pencil on paper
Dimensions
58 1/4 x 44 1/4" (148 x 112.4 cm)
Credit
The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection Gift
Object number
2332.2005
Copyright
© 2023 Kerry James Marshall
Department
Drawings and Prints

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