Semé
To Davis, the French word semé, the title of this painting, connotes lots of things strewn about. The composition presents a lively jumble of variously sized and colored shapes that collide and overlap, creating juxtapositions enhanced by the work’s punchy, discordant palette. The word "any" evokes equality among all the elements in the picture; Eydeas is a fusion of the words "eye" and "ideas." Davis’s flat, graphic style of painting and the incorporation of text suggest his appreciation of commercial advertising and, thus, his deliberate fusion of "high" and "low" art.
Artwork Details
- Title: Semé
- Artist: Stuart Davis (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1892–1964 New York)
- Date: 1953
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 52 × 40 in. (132.1 × 101.6 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: George A. Hearn Fund, 1953
- Object Number: 53.90
- Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Stuart Davis/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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1836. Semé
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Stuart Davis
ca. 1934
Stuart Davis
ca. 1934
Stuart Davis
ca. 1934
Stuart Davis
ca. 1934
Stuart Davis
1939
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