For J. Derequeleyne
Artist
Joseph Cornell
(American, 1903-1972)
CultureAmerican
Dateearly 1960s
MediumPaper collage on masonite
DimensionsOverall: 12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm)
InscribedSigned on reverse (twice): Joseph Cornell;
for J. Derequeleyne
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the Lendman Fund
Object number82.110
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 226
Label TextJoseph Cornell American, 1903–1972 For J. Derequeleyne, early 1960s Paper collage on masonite Dedicated to a Belgian poet, Joseph Cornell’s composition of pasted paper cutouts is itself a visual poem of refined delicacy and dreamlike mystery. Cornell cuts out illustrations from magazines and art catalogues to create this scene within a panoramic landscape. Opposites are set into visual play: color versus black and white, traditional versus modern. Like the trapeze artist at the upper left, the composition is a balancing act. The figure of the musician playing the bass was taken from a reproduction of the Italian painter Giovanni Battista Boncori’s painting The Musical Group in the Chrysler Museum’s own collection. Giovanni Battista Boncori Italian, 1643–1699 The Musical Group, ca. 1695 Oil on canvas Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.544 Museum purchase with funds from the Lendman Fund 82.110 ProvenanceMrs. J.A. Benton, Westhampton; Xavier Fourcade, Inc., New York; Christie's, Lot 230 of the Rollins Sale, New York, Nov. 12, 1982; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase with funds from the Lendman Fund, 1982. Exhibition History"Works on Paper, Small Format Objects: Duchamp to Heizer," Xavier Fourcade, Inc., New York, N.Y., February - March 1977. "Small Scale: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture," Xavier Fourcade, Inc., New York, N.Y., January - February, 1980. "Joseph Cornell," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y., November 1980 - January 1981. (Exh. cat. no. 253) "Excavating Clouds, Dismantling Silence," Poetry and the Visual Arts Festival, Bayly Memorial Art Gallery, University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Va., April 17 - May 6, 1984. Published ReferencesEdited by Kynaston McShine, with essays by Dawn Ades, Carter Ratcliff, P. Adams Sitney, and Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, _Joseph Cornell_, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y., 1980, cat. no. 253. ISBN: 0870702718, 0870702726 Christie's, _Contemporary Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings, Watercolors and Collages_, auction catalog (New York: November 12, 1982): 25, cat. no. 230. Thomas W. Styron, "New Acquisition Announced," _The Chrysler Museum Bulletin_ 13, no. 5 (May 1983): cover. Martha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 221, no. 136. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6
