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Dancer = Propeller = Sea

1915
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 910
Like other artists associated with Italian Futurism, Severini was fascinated by the interactions of movement and matter and the dynamic speeds of the modern world. In his manifesto Plastic Analogies of Dynamism (1913–14), written just before this work was painted, he describes the sensory and visual "analogies" that resonate across seemingly unrelated objects, from a dancing girl to a rushing express train to abstract forms. Here, he uses the same shapes and colors to convey the movements of a dancer, a spinning airplane propeller, and the roiling sea. The painting’s unusual diamond shape—the only example in Severini’s oeuvre—enhances the disorienting effect of simultaneous motion.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Dancer = Propeller = Sea
  • Artist: Gino Severini (Italian, Cortona 1883–1966 Paris)
  • Date: 1915
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 29 5/8 × 30 3/4 in. (75.2 × 78.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
  • Object Number: 49.70.3
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

Audio

Cover Image for 2005. Dancer = Propeller = Sea, Part 1

2005. Dancer = Propeller = Sea, Part 1

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More Artwork

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Two Harlequin Musicians
Gino Severini
ca. 1950s
Harlequin Family, Gino Severini Italian, Lithograph
Harlequin Family
Multiple artists/makers
1922
'Fleurs et Masques'
Multiple artists/makers
1930
Harlequin at rest (Arlequin au repos) from 'Fleurs et Masques'
Multiple artists/makers
1930
Still life from 'Fleurs et Masques'
Multiple artists/makers
1930

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Gino Severini - Dancer = Propeller = Sea - The Metropolitan Museum of Art