Accession Number
105472
Medium
Charcoal on paper
Dimensions
120.3 × 120.3 cm (47 3/8 × 47 3/8 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Willard Gidwitz
Background & Context
Background Story
Tom Wesselmanns Drawing for Still Life #12 from 1962 is a charcoal drawing on paper that represents a preparatory study for one of the Pop artists early Still Life paintings, revealing the working process behind the bold colors and simplified shapes that characterize his most celebrated work. Wesselmann, who developed the Great American Nude and Still Life series as his two primary subjects, produced numerous preparatory drawings for his paintings throughout his career, and these drawings reveal the compositional decisions and formal simplifications that underlie the seemingly effortless visual appeal of the finished paintings. The charcoal medium, with its capacity for both broad tonal areas and fine lines, allows Wesselmann to work through the compositional problems of the still life format, determining the placement of each object and the relationship between the various elements before committing to the final composition in paint. The year 1962 places this drawing in the earliest period of Wesselmanns Pop career, when he was developing the visual vocabulary of bold outlines, flat areas of color, and simplified shapes that would become the hallmarks of his style. The drawing reveals that the simplified shapes and bold outlines of the finished paintings are not the result of a naïve approach to representation but rather the product of a deliberate process of simplification and refinement that begins with the preparatory drawing.
Cultural Impact
Wesselmanns preparatory drawings are important documents for understanding the development of Pop Art and the working process of one of its founding figures. Drawing for Still Life #12 demonstrates the deliberate process of compositional simplification that underlies the seemingly effortless visual appeal of his finished paintings.
Why It Matters
A 1962 charcoal drawing on paper by Wesselmann preparatory to Still Life #12, revealing the compositional decisions and formal simplifications that underlie the Pop Art vocabulary of bold outlines and simplified shapes in the earliest period of his career.
