Study for Seraphim: Love
The precisely folded forms shaped out of slick vellum reflect Rockburne’s longstanding interest in Reimannian geometry, harmonic intervals, and topographical theory, which she first encountered while a student at Black Mountain College in the early 1950s. Rockburne wrote, "paper has two sides, it has a front and a back, and it has depth," a physical presence she enhanced through overlapping forms and gestural brushstrokes of paint. Yet this work is also ethereal and transcendent, as it is part of a series inspired by the fifteenth-century Italian artist Fra Angelico. The origami-like folds evoke the abstract wings and robes of his painted angels while emphasizing the incorporeal and otherworldly status of the seraphim, as complex and multifaceted as love.
Artwork Details
- Title: Study for Seraphim: Love
- Artist: Dorothea Rockburne (American, born Montreal, Canada 1932)
- Date: 1982
- Medium: Watercolor on vellum
- Dimensions: 37 1/2 × 38 9/16 in. (95.3 × 97.9 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Louis and Bessie Adler Foundation Inc. Gift, 1983
- Object Number: 1983.19
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Dorothea Rockburne
Gordon Novak
1987–88
Multiple artists/makers
1972
Returned to lender
Dorothea Rockburne
1993–1994
Returned to lender
Dorothea Rockburne
1978
Returned to lender
Dorothea Rockburne
2002
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.