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Look at This! ‘Josef Albers: Painting on Paper’ at the Morgan Library

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By Rozalia Jovanovic 7/24/12 2:30pm

Art in the Hamptons Is Wacky

  • Josef Albers, Color Study for Homage to the Square, not dated
    Start The Slideshow

    We all know Josef Albers for his austere formalist explorations into the relationships between concentric squares, such as those in his best-known series of paintings, “Homage to the Square.” But what’s less known about the one-time Bauhaus instructor is that while each of his paintings took only a few hours to complete, in preparation for those paintings, he executed many meticulous studies. While these studies were never shown during Albers’s lifetime, and rarely shown since his death in 1976, the Morgan Library and Museum has an exhibition of some 80 surprisingly lush and brilliant examples on view through Oct. 14. Created during the four decades after Albers left Nazi Germany, and in contrast to the artist’s strict geometric paintings, these loose and experimental studies show Albers’s sensual side.

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Color Study for Homage to the Square, not dated

    Josef Albers, Color Study for Homage to the Square, not dated

    Oil and graphite on blotting paper with varnish 30.5 x 30.5 cm. The Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop, inv. no. 9/433 Photography: Werner J. Hannappel

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Color Study for White Line Square, not dated

    Josef Albers, Color Study for White Line Square, not dated

    Oil on blotting paper (with gouache, pencil, and varnish) 29.53 x 29.66 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.22

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Study for a Kinetic, ca. 1945

    Josef Albers, Study for a Kinetic, ca. 1945

    Oil and graphite on blotting paper 48.5 x 61.1 cm The Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop, inv. no. 9/415 © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art

    Courtesy The Morgan Library and Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square with Color Study, not dated

    Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square with Color Study, not dated

    Oil on blotting paper 44.3 x 30.2 cm The Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop, inv. no. 9/434 Photography: Werner J. Hannappel

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Three Color Studies for Homage to the Square, not dated

    Josef Albers, Three Color Studies for Homage to the Square, not dated

    Oil on blotting paper 20.9 x 47.6 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.192

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Color Study for Homage to the Square, ca. 1950

    Josef Albers, Color Study for Homage to the Square, ca. 1950

    Oil on blotting paper 61 x 48.3 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.197

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe, ca. 1947

    Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe, ca. 1947

    Oil on blotting paper 48.2 x 61.4 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.114

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Color Study of Grays, not dated

    Josef Albers, Color Study of Grays, not dated

    Oil on cardstock with varnish 17.9 x 25.7 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.163

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe, Study for Four Central Warm Colors, Surrounded by 2 Blues, ca. 1948

    Josef Albers, Variant / Adobe, Study for Four Central Warm Colors, Surrounded by 2 Blues, ca. 1948

    Oil on blotting paper 48.2 x 60.6 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.119

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Forward Josef Albers, Two Color Studies for Homage to the Square, not dated

    Josef Albers, Two Color Studies for Homage to the Square, not dated

    Oil on blotting paper 24.7 x 14.6 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.1517

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

  • Back Josef Albers, Color Study for Mitered Square [Homage to the Square], not dated

    Josef Albers, Color Study for Mitered Square [Homage to the Square], not dated

    Oil on blotting paper 28.1 x 28.4 cm © 2012 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society New York Digital Image by Imaging 4 Art inv. no. 1976.2.321

    Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

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