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At the
Cycle-Race Track
ca. 1914 (?)
Oil and collage on canvas
130.4 x 97.1 cm
76.2553 PG 18 |
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Jean
Metzinger, a theoretician of Cubism, sought
to communicate the principles of this movement through
his paintings as well as his writings. Devices of Cubism
and Futurism appear in At the Cycle-Race Track, though
they are superimposed on an image that is essentially
naturalistic. Cubist elements include printed-paper
collage, the incorporation of a granular surface, and
the use of transparent planes to define space. The choice
of a subject in motion, the suggestion of velocity,
and the fusing of forms find parallels in Futurist painting.
Though these devices are handled with some awkwardness
and the influence of Impressionism persists, particularly
in the use of dots of color to represent the crowd in
the background, this work represents Metzinger’s
attempt to come to terms with a new pictorial language.
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