Man Ray

Man Ray 1914

About this artwork

This is an early work by Man Ray in which he experiments not only with Cubist forms and shading but with the use of letters and numbers in painting. He turns his signature and the date, traditional marks of historical authenticity, into a cliff face and sky - a gesture at once playful and subversive. As Man Ray once derisively remarked: ‘In a picture, is it not above all the signature that counts?' The work can be considered Man Ray's first Dada picture.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Man Ray (1890 - 1976) American
  • title:
    Man Ray 1914
  • date created:
    1914
  • materials:
    Oil on sketchblock
  • measurements:
    17.30 x 12.30 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Long Loan, The Penrose Collection, 1992
  • accession number:
    GML 621
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Man Ray

Man Ray