Black On Black

Name/Title

Black On Black

Entry/Object ID

77.59

Artwork Details

Medium

Silkscreen print on paper

Context

Credit Line: Purchased by the 1001 Gallery

Made/Created

Artist

Ad Reinhardt

Date made

1967

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Frame Size

Height

32-1/4 in

Width

31-1/4 in

Dimension Description

Image Size

Height

18 in

Width

18 in

Interpretative Labels

Label

Reinhardt’s works in black take a long time to see, challenging most viewers’ patience. These works appear to be solid fields of black, but are in fact subtle compositions incorporating intensely dark shades of red, blue, and green. Reinhardt continued refining his black artworks until his untimely death in 1967, considering them the resolution to his quest for the freest artistic freedom. These works mark the end of years of experimentation. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and friend of Reinhardt’s, said: "One must turn away from everything else and concentrate on the picture as though peering through a window into the night."