Skip to Content

Untitled (Fumage)

An abstract painting of swirls that cover the entire canvas. The swirls have the appearance of rising smoke, and the plumes curl up in shades of black, purple, and blue against a cream background. The nature of the swirls makes it look as though the plumes have eyes, or that they might be feathers.

Image actions

  • An abstract painting of swirls that cover the entire canvas. The swirls have the appearance of rising smoke, and the plumes curl up in shades of black, purple, and blue against a cream background. The nature of the swirls makes it look as though the plumes have eyes, or that they might be feathers.

Date:

1938

Artist:

Wolfgang Paalen
Austrian, 1905–1959

About this artwork

Wolfgang Paalen’s invention of fumage—literally painting with smoke—established his position as a preeminent painter within the Surrealist movement. To execute this technique, which Paalen described as “dictation by candle,” he would hold a candle flame up to a treated canvas while the paint was still wet, marking the surface with soot. In this large-scale work, smoke and oil paint blend seamlessly, creating biomorphic forms that seem to emerge from the plumes. Believing art could express a new order of things, Paalen once stated that modern art should leave us filled with hope, elaborating that the “possible does not have to be justified by the known.”

This is one of thirty-five works that comprise the Winterbotham Collection. Click here to learn more about the collection.

Status

On View, Gallery 398

Department

Modern Art

Artist

Wolfgang Paalen

Title

Untitled (Fumage)

Place

Austria (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.

1938

Medium

Oil with smoke on canvas

Dimensions

91.5 × 71.8 cm (36 × 28 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Joseph Winterbotham Collection

Reference Number

2023.1323

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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms