Abstract Composition (Abstrakte Komposition) / László Moholy-Nagy

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Record Details

Accession Number
1953/2.9
Title
Abstract Composition (Abstrakte Komposition)
Artist Nationality
American
Artist Life Dates
Hungary, 1895-1946
Object Creation Date
circa 1925
Object Creation Place
Europe (continent)
Germany (nation)
Creation Place 1
Europe (continent)
Creation Place 2
Germany (nation)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Style/Group/Movement
abstract
Inscription
Signed l.r.: Moholy-Nagy
Dimensions
49.1 cm x 34.7 cm (19 5/16 in. x 13 11/16 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Drawing
Primary Object Type
abstract
Secondary Object Classification
Mixed Media
Secondary Object Type
collage
Physical Description
A spare and restrained abstract composition, built up out of layers of mostly translucent basic geometric forms. The grey tones of the background are created with large rectangle shapes. In the upper part of the piece is a light colored circle, with a brighter circle inside it. Both are crossed by an axis of bright, thin orange lines. On the left, the point of a triangle protrudes from the edge. It is covered by a faint gray trapezoidal shape. Three small black semi-circles are also visible: one along the lines inside the circles; the other two along the trapezoidal shape and just beneath the triangle.
Subject Matter
A restrained formal abstract composition, the subject of the piece is the relationship between the shapes and colors. Moholy-Nagy theorized that in the visual realm, space, time, mass, and light can become like one perceptible substance. In this piece we can also see the artist's interest in the spare forms and clean lines of industrial design, an interest of the Bauhaus school where he taught in the twenties.
design
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
883 x 1257
File Size
99 KB
Record
1953/2.9
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1953-sl-2.9/1953_2.9.jpg

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Full citation
"Abstract Composition (Abstrakte Komposition); László Moholy-Nagy." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1953-sl-2.9/1953_2.9.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024.
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