ticketsMember | Make a donation

Being With (Être Avec)

1946
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 911
Matta painted this canvas in 1946 while he was living in New York (1939–48). It depicts a labyrinth of architectural structures seen from various perspectives and contorted humanoid figures engaged in sex acts. This imagery reflects his familiarity with architectural design and Surrealism. Like many artists at the time, Matta expressed distress at the state of the world, one ravaged by World War II. His paintings and drawings of the mid-to-late 1940s (called "social morphologies") address the societal crisis that he felt he was "being with," as the title of this painting suggests. This approach brought him closer to the nascent Abstract Expressionist group in New York, particularly Robert Motherwell and Arshile Gorky, who were eager to experiment with Surrealist techniques and imagery.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Being With (Être Avec)
  • Artist: Roberto Matta (Chilean, Santiago 1911–2002 Civitavecchia, Italy)
  • Date: 1946
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 87 in. × 15 ft. (221 × 457.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, and Gift of The Glickstein Foundation, by exchange, 2003
  • Object Number: 2003.270
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Intronautes
Multiple artists/makers
1965
Mural Scrolls no. 1, "Sun Dice" by Matta
Roberto Matta
Katzenbach & Warren, Inc.
ca. 1949
The Bus
Roberto Matta
1962
Leitmotiv : boletin de hechos & ideas, Roberto Matta Chilean
Leitmotiv : boletin de hechos & ideas
Multiple artists/makers
1942-
In the Palm of Dawn, Roberto Matta Chilean, Oil on canvas
In the Palm of Dawn
Roberto Matta
1953

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

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.