Lot 3421 - A211 PostWar & Contemporary - jeudi, 28. novembre 2024, 16h00
ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG
(Port Arthur 1925–2008 Captiva Island)
Jones Diner (Anagram). 1995.
Plant colour transfer techique on paper.
Signed and dated lower right: Rauschenberg 95.
115.8 × 76 cm.
Provenance:
- Gifted by the artist to Mickey Ruskin Fund for the Friends House in Rosehill.
- Auction Sotheby’s, New York, 13.11.2002, lot 339.
- Private collection, Switzerland, acquired at the above auction.
Exhibited:
Literature:
www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/art/artwork/jones-diner-anagram
Robert Rauschenberg is regarded as a key figure of post-war modernism. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, at the Académie Julian in Paris and later at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. There, he was particularly influenced by the colour field theory of the German painter and art theorist Josef Albers, as well as other role models such as the Fluxus artist Josef Beuys and the abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning.
Rauschenberg is known for his experimental works, which blur the lines between painting, sculpture and collage. His sensational combinations of everyday objects, assemblages and collages using a variety of mediums, materials and colours and his experiments with new overpainting techniques and his journeys into the worlds of theatre and photography made him one of the most versatile and innovative artists in the world.
As a young artist, during a trip to Cuba in 1952, Rauschenberg discovered a technique to transfer printed images onto paper. Although the motifs in these early transfers are only faintly reproduced, the works heralded Rauschenberg's move away from the three-dimensional and towards a two-dimensional visual language.
In 1958, Rauschenberg began to work intensively on the development of his special copying process, the so-called ‘transfer’ technique. He transferred printed material, mainly from popular magazines, onto paper by preparing the originals with a solvent, placing them face down on the paper and then running the flat side of a palette knife over the reverse side. The result is a mirror image consisting of hatchings created by rubbing. Photographs, comic drawings and reproductions of works of art are seamlessly integrated into the picture surface. This is supplemented with overpainting using graphite, gouache, watercolour and wax crayons.
In 1993, Rauschenberg began to create colour prints of his photographs using an iris printer. These so-called iris prints are characterised by the fact that the colours remain on the surface of the emulsion instead of being absorbed by the paper. This results in high-resolution images with evenly nuanced colours. These prints also give the artist the opportunity to use vegetable dyes as printing colours. Only water is needed to transfer the images from one medium to another instead of chemical solvents. This allowed Rauschenberg to combine his artistic endeavours harmoniously with his commitment to environmental protection. Fittingly, the first series created using this technique is entitled ‘Waterworks’.
His subsequent series of paintings entitled ‘Anagrams’ refers to the combinations of words that relate to the motifs depicted. Our work ‘Jones Diner’ from 1995 is inspired by a classic New York diner that can be recognised in the upper third of the picture - the famous diner in NoHo, Manhattan, just one block away from Robert Rauschenberg's flat at the time. The work combines various elements, such as flowers on the table, a roadblock, a snapshot of an everyday scene of people standing in a queue and a wall clock. These different subjects merge into one another due to the water-based nature of the printing technique. Although this iconic establishment on the corner of Great Jones Street and Lafayette Street closed in 2002 after more than 60 years, the work may still invite the viewer to embark on a search for traces of Robert Rauschenberg's oeuvre in Manhattan.
Rauschenberg is known for his experimental works, which blur the lines between painting, sculpture and collage. His sensational combinations of everyday objects, assemblages and collages using a variety of mediums, materials and colours and his experiments with new overpainting techniques and his journeys into the worlds of theatre and photography made him one of the most versatile and innovative artists in the world.
As a young artist, during a trip to Cuba in 1952, Rauschenberg discovered a technique to transfer printed images onto paper. Although the motifs in these early transfers are only faintly reproduced, the works heralded Rauschenberg's move away from the three-dimensional and towards a two-dimensional visual language.
In 1958, Rauschenberg began to work intensively on the development of his special copying process, the so-called ‘transfer’ technique. He transferred printed material, mainly from popular magazines, onto paper by preparing the originals with a solvent, placing them face down on the paper and then running the flat side of a palette knife over the reverse side. The result is a mirror image consisting of hatchings created by rubbing. Photographs, comic drawings and reproductions of works of art are seamlessly integrated into the picture surface. This is supplemented with overpainting using graphite, gouache, watercolour and wax crayons.
In 1993, Rauschenberg began to create colour prints of his photographs using an iris printer. These so-called iris prints are characterised by the fact that the colours remain on the surface of the emulsion instead of being absorbed by the paper. This results in high-resolution images with evenly nuanced colours. These prints also give the artist the opportunity to use vegetable dyes as printing colours. Only water is needed to transfer the images from one medium to another instead of chemical solvents. This allowed Rauschenberg to combine his artistic endeavours harmoniously with his commitment to environmental protection. Fittingly, the first series created using this technique is entitled ‘Waterworks’.
His subsequent series of paintings entitled ‘Anagrams’ refers to the combinations of words that relate to the motifs depicted. Our work ‘Jones Diner’ from 1995 is inspired by a classic New York diner that can be recognised in the upper third of the picture - the famous diner in NoHo, Manhattan, just one block away from Robert Rauschenberg's flat at the time. The work combines various elements, such as flowers on the table, a roadblock, a snapshot of an everyday scene of people standing in a queue and a wall clock. These different subjects merge into one another due to the water-based nature of the printing technique. Although this iconic establishment on the corner of Great Jones Street and Lafayette Street closed in 2002 after more than 60 years, the work may still invite the viewer to embark on a search for traces of Robert Rauschenberg's oeuvre in Manhattan.
CHF 35 000 / 55 000 | (€ 36 080 / 56 700)