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Phrygian

A work made of soft ground etching, spit-bite, drypoint and aquatint in black and gray on cream wove paper, laid down on white wove paper (chine collé).
© Martin Puryear

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  • A work made of soft ground etching, spit-bite, drypoint and aquatint in black and gray on cream wove paper, laid down on white wove paper (chine collé).

Date:

2012

Artist:

Martin Puryear
American, born 1941

About this artwork

Puryear has used several works to explore the shape of the Phrygian cap, a symbol of liberty popularized by the French Revolution. While he was familiar with the numerous depictions of the cap, it was only after he began the sculpture Big Phrygian, in 2014, that he came across an early engraving of a black man wearing one. Dating to 1794, the year that slavery was abolished in France, the image depicts a freed slave with the caption Moi libre aussi (I am free too).

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Martin Puryear

Title

Phrygian

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

2012

Medium

Soft ground etching, spit-bite, drypoint and aquatint in black and gray on cream wove paper, laid down on white wove paper (chine collé)

Dimensions

Image/plate: 60.5 × 45.2 cm (23 7/8 × 17 13/16 in.); Sheet: 88.5 × 70.6 cm (34 7/8 × 27 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

The John H. Wrenn Memorial, Helen Davis Baily, and Albert H. Wolf funds

Reference Number

2013.179

Copyright

© Martin Puryear

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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