Untitled

Untitled

Joseph Beuys

1974

graphite

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting is four light beige sheets of paper stuck to a wood panel. Each sheet has faint pencil lines—some look like rough maps, others like scattered scribbles or tiny circles. The lines are thin, almost erased, with a few darker marks here and there. The sheets feel unfinished, like sketches someone started and never finished. The paper is slightly crumpled, and the pencil marks vary—some are careful, others messy. It’s as if the artist was testing ideas, not making a polished work. Check out cross-hatching to see how artists build up lines and shading.

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