Timescape

Jimmy Ernst, Timescape, 1956, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.28
Copied Jimmy Ernst, Timescape, 1956, oil on canvas, 36 x 47 7⁄8 in. (91.4 x 121.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.28

Artwork Details

Title
Timescape
Artist
Date
1956
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
36 x 47 7⁄8 in. (91.4 x 121.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
Object Number
1986.6.28
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.28

Artwork Description

Jimmy Ernst used complex interlocking lines and geometric shapes to manipulate pictorial space. In Timescape he conjured a dreamlike world of totemic forms. Rather than the bold, gestural brushstrokes of his abstract expressionist contemporaries, Ernst preferred delicate lines and precise marks that captured the energy of subconscious creation. 


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Luce Center Label

Jimmy Ernst used a Japanese sword striper paintbrush to create the delicate arrangement of blue and white lines in the center of this painting, which contrasts with the dark, heavy shapes on either side. The image conjures a dreamlike world of structures spinning and whirring like fantastic wind machines. Ernst used shades of blue with only occasional touches of red to emphasize the different textures of paint, from the scumbled mass on the left to the dense, overlapping shapes on the right.