Untitled

Untitled

Arthur Dove

1912

charcoal

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This drawing is all sharp angles and smooth curves. A tall black rectangle sits in the middle, like a door or window. Around it, big shapes—triangles and a circle—push against each other, made from rough, smudged charcoal lines. The artist used quick, uneven strokes to build up the dark areas, almost like scribbling. It feels like the shapes are floating, not quite solid. Look up scumbling to see how artists create texture with layered strokes.

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