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For J. Derequeleyne

Artist Joseph Cornell (American, 1903-1972)

Dateearly 1960s

MediumPaper collage on masonite

DimensionsOverall: 12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the Lendman Fund

Object number82.110

Terms

Man
Landscapes
Musicians
Rope
Walking
Brown
Blue
Green
White
Black

On View

Not on view

DescriptionPaper collage on masonite. This two-dimensional collage incorporates one of the figures from a painting at the Chrysler Museum of Art: _Musical Group_ by Giovanni Boncori. The figure from the painting is shown playing an instrument in the lower right corner. Also, in the upper left quadrant is a tightrope walker with her back turned to the viewer. A vast landscape is in the background.

Label TextJoseph Cornell American (1903-1972) For J. Derequeleyne, ca. 1960 Collage on masonite Museum purchase with funds from the Lendman Fund 82.110 Dedicated to a Belgian poet, Joseph Cornell's composition of pasted paper cutouts is itself a visual poem of refined delicacy and dreamlike mystery. We can imagine this reclusive artist cutting out illustrations from magazines and art catalogues, then placing the figures against a panoramic landscape. Quiet opposites are set into visual play: color versus black and white, traditional versus modern. Forms and figures are brought together by Cornell's hand. Like the trapeze artist at the upper left, art 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 (see illustration).