Untitled

Untitled

Arshile Gorky

1941

oil

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting shows three figures with oversized, simplified heads and bright, flat colors. They’re dressed in loose, colorful clothes—one wears a wide-brimmed hat, another has a striped scarf, and all three hold objects like umbrellas or poles. The background is a dark, muddy green with sharp black lines cutting across it. The figures look like they’re in motion, but their faces are just big circles with dots for eyes. The artist used thick, uneven brushstrokes, making the paint stand out in chunks. Next, check out impasto to see how this technique works in other paintings.

More by Arshile Gorky

Artifact World Gallery — 100,000 artworks Get the app