  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.
  
  
  
  
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  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
  
  
  Copyright
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