Composition with Cat and Multiple Heads
This drawing reflects Tchelitchew’s engagement with Surrealist and Neo-Romantic ideas, combining an intricate composition with dreamlike imagery. Known for his depictions of heads—often singular, bust-like forms—he expands this theme here through layered figures that metamorphize into one another. This practice of combining, overlapping, and otherwise contouring the figures in his compositions first appeared in Tchelitchew’s work of the 1920s, though the artist’s interest in this technique likely stemmed from a childhood fascination with double image postcards, as curator James Thrall Soby noted.[1]
[1] James Thrall Soby, Tchelitchew: Paintings and Drawings. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, p. 18.
[1] James Thrall Soby, Tchelitchew: Paintings and Drawings. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, p. 18.
Artwork Details
- Title: Composition with Cat and Multiple Heads
- Artist: Pavel Tchelitchew (American (born Russia), Kaluga 1898–1957 Grottaferrata)
- Date: ca. 1928
- Medium: Pen and ink and wash on paper
- Dimensions: 10 7/8 × 8 13/16 in. (27.7 × 22.4 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of the Constance B. and Carroll L. Cartwright Collection, 2025
- Object Number: 2025.236.7
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
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.