Relief no. 12B

Description

Among César Domela's most ambitious "neoplastic reliefs," Relief no. 12B is notable not only for its large size but also for its complex construction from overlapping hollow and solid disks. One of the youngest members of the Dutch art movement De Stijl, Domela made his first relief in 1929, using wood, metallic paint, and metal rods to create three-dimensional rectangular compositions that resemble geometric paintings yet extend into the space of the viewer by projecting off the wall. When Plexiglas was invented in 1933, Domela became one of the first artists to embrace it as a material, using it and other plastics to enhance the play of light within his works, and generate new physical and optical textures and patterns.

Provenance

The artist; Peggy Guggenheim (1898–1979), Paris and later New York, by fall 1940 until at least 1942 [Clairet 1978, 241; Wintgens 2017, 52n16; Guggenheim 1942, 92]. Sold through B.C. Holland Gallery, Chicago, to Lillian Florsheim (1896–1988), Chicago, Oct. 24, 1963 [receipt, copy in curatorial object file]; by descent to Lisa Goldberg, New York; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, June 17, 2024.

Relief no. 12B

César Domela

1936

Accession Number

261219

Medium

Masonite, wood, cellulose acetate rods, plastic sheet, metal, brass, paint

Dimensions

Diam.: 106.7 cm (42 in.); D.: 15.3 cm (6 in.)

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Lisa Goldberg in memory of Lillian Florsheim