Artwork
Abstraction
Abstraction is an unspecified painting by the Cubism Synthetic artist Alfred Maurer. It dates from 1925 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
The painting Abstraction by Alfred Maurer is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The painting Abstraction was created by Alfred Maurer in 1925. This work is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The available records confirm the artist, the year of inception, and the institution housing the piece, though they do not detail the specific commissioning circumstances or the intermediate ownership chain prior to its arrival at the museum.
The painting Abstraction by Alfred Maurer is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created in 1925, the work is classified as a painting within the museum's holdings. While the institution serves as its current location, the provided records do not list a specific accession number or detail past exhibition appearances for this piece.
Overview
Alfred Henry Maurer’s 1925 painting Abstraction exemplifies the synthetic phase of Cubism, employing geometric simplification and layered forms. The work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and reflects the artist’s engagement with avant‑garde ideas that circulated in New York and Europe during the early twentieth century.
Subject & Meaning
The composition consists of bold, rounded shapes that intersect and overlap, creating a dynamic visual field. Bright, contrasting hues of red, yellow, and blue emerge against a darker ground, suggesting a tension between surface and depth while eschewing representational subject matter in favor of pure abstraction.
Technique & Style
Maurer combines smooth, flat areas with impasto passages, generating texture that enhances the sense of movement. The layered arrangement of geometric elements and the use of vivid, clashing colors are characteristic of synthetic Cubism’s emphasis on constructed forms rather than illusionistic space.
Context
Created at a time when American artists were increasingly looking to European modernist movements, the painting reflects the cross‑Atlantic exchange of ideas that defined the 1920s. Maurer’s participation in synthetic Cubism situates him among a cohort of artists exploring abstraction through geometric reduction.
Artist & collection
Artist
Alfred Henry Maurer (April 21, 1868 – August 4, 1932) was an American modernist painter.
