Untitled

Untitled

Ben Shahn

1945

tempera

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting shows a sandy beach covered in tiny pebbles. The grains and stones look almost the same color, blending into a soft, textured surface. Half-buried in the sand is a small, rusty object—maybe a piece of metal or a broken tool. The artist used a simple, flat style to focus on the details of the pebbles and the way light hits them. The colors are muted, but the texture makes the scene feel real. If you like this, check out tempera to see how artists use this old paint method.

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