Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131

1974

Robert Motherwell American, 1915-1991

Not On View

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 1 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 2 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 3 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 4 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 5 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 6 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 7 of Collection Gallery

Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131: 8 of Collection Gallery

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance page
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.
Audio Transcript

Please note: This section is empty

About the Artwork

Robert Motherwell's most acclaimed series of works is a group of more than 150 "Elegy to the Spanish Republic" paintings originally created in 1948 to accompany a poem by Harold Rosenberg titled "Elegy to the Spanish Republic I." The motif, alternating black vertical rectangles and suspended ovoid forms against a white or gray background, has had many symbolic translations, but it is meant to express the savage in the human soul. This painting was created during a dramatic revival period of the "Elegies" theme. It exemplifies Abstract Expressionist painting with its combination of primitive rawness and sophisticated elegance, and its effect of huge, spontaneous brushstrokes.

Title Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131

Artwork Date 1974

Artist Robert Motherwell

Life Dates 1915-1991

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Overall: 96 × 120 inches (243.8 × 304.8 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department Contemporary Art after 1950

Credit Founders Society Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 77.48

Markings

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance

1977-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 56, no. 5 (1978): p. 286 (ill.).

Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.

Suggest Feedback

Catalogue Raisoneé

Please note: This section is empty

Credit Line for Reproduction

Robert Motherwell, Elegy to the Spanish Republic #131, 1974, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund, 77.48.