About this artwork
Never Again was painted shortly before Tanguy left France for New York in November 1939. He took this painting with him to sell to an art dealer in America. The small, individualised amoeba-like forms in the foreground are typical of the shapes Tanguy included at that time in his paintings. It is difficult to determine what these shapes are intended to represent; however, the idea of metamorphosis, of one shape changing into another, is central to Surrealism. The meticulous style of the abstract forms contrasts with the illusionistic background, in which it is difficult to determine depth.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Yves Tanguy (1900 - 1955) French
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title:Jamais Plus [Never Again]
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date created:1939
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:92.00 x 73.00 cm; Framed: 104.30 x 86.00 x 5.80 cm; 17.00 kg
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object type:
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credit line:Bequeathed by Gabrielle Keiller 1995
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accession number:GMA 4085
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Yves Tanguy
Yves Tanguy
Tanguy was born in Paris. He had no formal art training but decided to become a painter in 1923 after seeing two paintings by the Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico in the window of an art gallery, while riding on a bus. He had previously been in the merchant navy until 1922. Tanguy...