Mercurius in the Vessel / Richard Anuszkiewicz
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1988/1.137
- Title
- Mercurius in the Vessel
- Artist
- Richard Anuszkiewicz
- Artist Nationality
- American
- Artist Life Dates
- born 1930
- Medium and Support
- oil on canvas
- Object Creation Date
- 1963
- Object Creation Place
- North and Central America (continent)
- United States (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- North and Central America (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- United States (nation)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of W. Hawkins Ferry
- Style/Group/Movement
- Optical Art
- Inscription
- RICHARD ANUSZKIEWICZ 1963
- Dimensions
- 152.4 cm x 153 cm (60 in. x 60 1/4 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- abstract
- Physical Description
- Concentric lines of bright red alternate with lines of blue and green to create an optical illusion of receeding squares. The juxtaposition of these colors also creates an appearance of intersecting orange lines and hues of purple.
- Subject Matter
- Richard Anuszkiewicz was a pioneer in the development of American Op (short for Optical) Art in the 1960s, a movement concerned with exploring the optical effects of perceptual processes. Anuszkiewicz, who studied under color theorist Josef Albers, was particularly interested in the effects that neighboring colors could have on one another. Mercurius in the Vessel demonstrates the dazzling chromatic vibration that can occur when complementary warm and cool colors (such as red and green) meet. The painting’s repeated, concentric geometric shapes accentuate the ambiguity this juxtaposition of colors creates between receding and projecting space. Although his rigidly structured compositions are carefully planned, for Anuszkiewicz such effects are as emotional as they are scientific. He has said, “I’m interested in making something romantic out of a very, very mechanistic geometry.”
- Secondary Keywords
- visual arts
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- genres
- international post-1945 styles and movements
- modern and contemporary art
- objects we use
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- post-1945 fine arts styles and movements
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- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 993 x 979
- File Size
- 74 KB
- Record
- 1988/1.137
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1988-sl-1.137/1988_1.137.jpg
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- Full citation
-
"Mercurius in the Vessel; Richard Anuszkiewicz." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1988-sl-1.137/1988_1.137.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 09, 2024.
