Artwork
Mama, Papa Is Wounded!
Mama, Papa Is Wounded! is an oil painting by the Surrealist artist Yves Tanguy. It dates from 1927 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1927, “Mama, Papa Is Wounded!” is an oil painting on canvas by the French surrealist Yves Tanguy. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it is displayed among other key examples of early twentieth‑century avant‑garde art.
Subject & Meaning
The title suggests a narrative of familial injury, yet the canvas presents Tanguy’s characteristic abstract landscape of biomorphic forms and ambiguous space, leaving any literal interpretation open to the viewer’s imagination.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting employs Tanguy’s meticulous, smooth brushwork to render a dreamlike terrain of interlocking shapes and muted tones. The absence of recognizable objects reflects the surrealist aim to depict the unconscious mind through non‑representational imagery.
History & Provenance
After its completion in the late 1920s, the canvas entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it has remained a representative piece of Tanguy’s mature period. Its acquisition helped solidify MoMA’s holdings of European surrealism.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy, known as just Yves Tanguy, was a French Surrealist painter, known for his abstract landscapes.
