Tenebre (FF.505)

1963

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Sottsass conceived the Tenebres while recovering from nephritis. The objects were then shown in 1963 in the exhibition "Ceramiche delle tenebre" (Ceramics of Darkness) at Il Sestante in Milan. In somber colors with geometric patterning evocative of Eastern religious symbols, they reflect his state of mind during his treatment. He suffered a fever dream in which the phases of the moon during the night passed into the sun and daylight. The ceramics use the moon as their leitmotif. Writing about the Tenebres, Sottsass stated: "The more I think about darkness, the less I know what it is like and the more difficult it gets to define it." For him, "the violet light of a hospital corridor" was an example of how one might plunge into darkness.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Tenebre (FF.505)
Artist: Ettore Sottsass (Italian (born Austria), Innsbruck 1917–2007 Milan)
Date: 1963
Medium: Ceramic
Dimensions: 12 × 6 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (30.5 × 15.9 × 15.9 cm)
Classification: Ceramics
Credit Line: Private Collection, Switzerland
Rights and Reproduction: Studio Ettore Sottsass Srl
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art