Untitled

ca. late 1937–39

Not on view

Pollock’s sketches from the late 1930s show him exploring the compositions of the old masters, with the aid of photographic reproductions. On this sheet, the artist has copied two ignudi from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes, turning the sheet from a vertical to a horizontal orientation in the process, so that one figure appears to sit on the other’s back. At the time, Pollock was learning the methods of his teacher, Thomas Hart Benton. In a five-article series published in 1926–27, "Mechanics of Form Organization in Painting," Benton analyzed paintings by the Spanish Renaissance master El Greco and others in terms of their "cubic forms." On the other side of this sheet, Pollock re-created a Resurrection scene by El Greco using Benton’s methods.

Artwork Details

Title: Untitled
Artist: Jackson Pollock (American, Cody, Wyoming 1912–1956 East Hampton, New York)
Date: ca. late 1937–39
Medium: Colored pencil on paper (recto) ; colored pencil and graphite on paper (verso)
Dimensions: 17 13/16 × 11 7/8 in. (45.2 × 30.1 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Anonymous Gift, 1990
Object Number: 1990.4.5ab
Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Untitled, Jackson Pollock American, Black ink on paper — Untitled
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1950

Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook), Jackson Pollock American, Brush and ink on paper (recto); brush and ink on paper (verso) — Untitled (Page from a Lost Sketchbook)
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1939–42

Untitled (Figure Composition), Jackson Pollock American, Gouache on paper — Untitled (Figure Composition)
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1938–41

Untitled, Jackson Pollock American, Colored pencils, pen and black ink on paper — Untitled
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1934–37

Sheet of Studies, Jackson Pollock American, Pen and black ink on paper — Sheet of Studies
Jackson Pollock
ca. 1947

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