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Untitled

A work made of oil, house paint, paper, fabric, and printed reproductions, with sock and parachute on canvas.
© Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

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  • A work made of oil, house paint, paper, fabric, and printed reproductions, with sock and parachute on canvas.

Date:

c. 1955

Artist:

Robert Rauschenberg
American, 1925–2008

About this artwork

Robert Rauschenberg’s fascination with methods and materials led to numerous experiments that pushed the boundaries of a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and drawing. Along with fellow artist Jasper Johns, Rauschenberg charted a viable path out of Abstract Expressionism, the predominant artistic practice when he emerged during the 1950s.

Rauschenberg is best known for the Combine, a painting-sculpture hybrid that integrated humble objects, ephemeral materials, and found images into works that bridge what he called “the gap between art and life.” Untitled is an early work from this seminal series. A sock, a postcard, and an army-flare parachute are among the used and discarded remnants of everyday life held in balance by the expressive brush-strokes and spatters of paint. Echoing this application, the strings of the parachute drip like paint from the canvas, forming a catenary, the curve imposed by the force of gravity on a string suspended freely from two points. With this rupture of the picture plane, the fictive space of the artwork’s surface engages the actual space occupied by the viewer.

Status

On View, Gallery 292

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Robert Rauschenberg

Title

Untitled

Place

United States (Object made in)

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.

Made 1950–1960

Medium

Oil, house paint, paper, fabric, and printed reproductions, with sock and parachute on canvas

Dimensions

172.7 × 139.7 cm (68 × 55 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Edlis Neeson Collection

Reference Number

2015.122

Copyright

© Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

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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