Naum Gabo

Opus Three

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About this artwork

This monoprint was made in an end-grain block of cherry wood. There is a clear relationship between the forms here and Gabo’s sculpture at that time. Through fine hatched and stipple marks, he managed to suggest different levels of transparency. It seems to be the only one of the five monoprints made in 1950 which was preceded by a drawing - a small watercolour, dating from 1949. Gabo’s later monoprints were first conceived on paper and then, often, transferred to a flat piece of plastic which acted as a template for the transfer of the drawing onto the wooden block. There are forty recorded examples of this work.     

Published September 2021

  • artist:
    Naum Gabo (1890 - 1977) RussianAmerican
  • title:
    Opus Three
  • date created:
    1950
  • materials:
    Monoprint in black ink on tissue paper
  • measurements:
    19.80 x 14.30 cm (image size); 27.80 x 22.90 cm (base material size)
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Accepted from Nina Williams under the Cultural Gifts Scheme by HM Government and allocated to Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 2020
  • accession number:
    GMA 5651
  • gallery:
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Naum Gabo

Naum Gabo