Untitled

Untitled

Jimmy Ernst

1949

oil

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting shows a strange, floating staircase leading up to a dark, window-like shape. Below it, tangled gears and wires float in a blue sky. The colors are mostly cool blues and grays, with sharp black lines cutting through everything. The gears look like they’re part of a machine, but they’re also in the sky—like the world is both mechanical and dreamlike. The artist played with how light hits the shapes, making some areas glow while others stay shadowy. If this mix of machines and sky intrigues you, check out *chiaroscuro* next.

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