Object number1992.15.27

Rythme

Datec. 1932-1937

Artist Robert Delaunay (French, 1885 - 1937)

MediumOil on artist board

DimensionsUnframed: 24 5/8 x 16 7/8 in. (62.55 x 42.86 cm)
Framed: 29 3/4 x 21 x 1 1/8 in. (75.57 x 53.34 x 2.86 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Gladys K. Delmas, class of 1935

On View

On view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Painting

Terms

Orphist (modern French style)

SignedSigned (verso, UC): R Delaunay

Vassar Exhibitions

Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art from the Permanent Collection

Exhibition HistoryJapan, Shimane Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," March 7 - May 11, 2008;

Japan, Ishibashi Museum of Art, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," May 17 - July 20, 2008;

Japan, Yamagata Museum of Art, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," July 30 - August 31, 2008;

Japan. Fuchu Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," September 6 - November 3, 2008;

Japan, Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," November 14 - December 14, 2008.

Poughkeepsie, New York, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, "Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art from the Permanent Collection," July 12 - September 8, 2013.

Zurich, Switzerland, Kunsthas Zurich, "Robert Delaunay and The City of Lights," August 31 - November 18, 2018. Cat. 75, repr.

Label TextDelaunay's experiments with form, color, and line dispense with recognizable subject matter and instead visually express his fascination with technological innovations in the modern world. Interested in the intersections of music, visual art, and color theory, he saw the possibility of his paintings bringing harmony to the chaos around him. In Rythme, colorful discs move rhythmically in a strong diagonal from the bottom left to the top right of the composition, breaking up the rectangular shape of the work into two hemispheres. An early adopter of non-objective abstraction, he once said of his abstract works, "These colored planes are the structure of the picture, and nature is no longer a subject for description but a pretext." This painting by Delaunay stands apart from others like it in that the frame was decorated by the artist in two contrasting tones of muted gray to enhance the bold dividing line of the composition.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu