Artwork
Rosa Mystica
Rosa Mystica is an oil painting by the Abstract Expressionist artist Augustus Vincent Tack. It dates from 1923 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
A robed figure stands on clouds with arms outstretched, wearing a blue head covering and a long red-and-gold garment as small winged shapes float in a faded sky. Augustus Vincent Tack painted Rosa Mystica in 1923, setting the figure within a pointed cloud mandorla, a shape common in religious art. Thick paint gives the surface its textured look.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the Virgin Mary as the Rosa Mystica (Mystical Rose), a traditional Marian title invoking her purity and intercessory role.
The painting depicts the Virgin Mary as the Rosa Mystica (Mystical Rose), a traditional Marian title invoking her purity and intercessory role. She is enclosed within a mandorla, an almond-shaped aureole symbolizing divine presence, and set against a sky with clouds and an angel. The iconography draws on Catholic devotional imagery, while the modernist, spiritually expressive handling transforms the subject into an ethereal, transcendent vision. The work represents a twentieth-century interpretation of a classic religious theme, emphasizing Mary's celestial and mystical nature.
Technique & Style
Rosa Mystica is an oil painting on canvas, executed in 1923, measuring 151.8 by 122 cm. The work exemplifies the spiritually expressive modernism of its period through its gestural brushwork and tension between representation and abstraction. The composition features a mandorla, the Virgin Mary, angels, clouds, and sky, blending religious iconography with modernist formal qualities. Tack's handling is broadly applied with layered pigments, creating luminous, ethereal effects. No condition details are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Rosa Mystica is an oil painting that presents a central robed figure poised on a cloud formation, with arms extended. Smaller winged shapes are visible in the surrounding sky, which features a faded, aged quality. The artist employed oil paint, applying it thickly in certain areas to impart a tactile surface texture to the composition.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Augustus Vincent Tack (1870–1949) was an American artist, born in Pittsburgh.
