Jasper Johns
American, b. 1930
Untitled, 1998
Intaglio on handptorn Hahnemuhle paper, 41 3/4 x 81 inches
Edition: 10/44
Published by Universal Limited Art Editions, Bay Shore, New York
Museum Purchase, James and Mary Nelson and Peter M. Wege
2010.1

© Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

A painter who makes prints, Jasper Johns takes his place alongside Rembrandt van Rijn and Pablo Picasso as one of the great printmakers in the history of western art. Johns assumes such company because of the beauty of his prints, which derives from unmatched craftsmanship, technical innovation, and a richness of imagery.

In three separately printed panels, Untitled presents a set of motifs related to making art. In triptych form – lending a reverential tone to the work – stenciled names of the primary colors appear: red, yellow, and blue. Notational arrows point to the lower edge of the print. Their downward emphasis is countered by the upward thrust of the imprinted arm and hand of the artist himself. The sweeping hand in the right panel seems to generate the basic form of a circle—including by suggestion the larger and smaller circles that dominate the work.

Johns' interest in the creative act and issues of meaning generated by shifts of form, color, scale, and medium are evident in the making of Untitled. The etched copper plates Johns used to create Untitled had been used intermittently over a period of nearly two decades to make six separate prints. In contrast to the earlier prints, which are whimsical, mysterious, or tragic in tone, Untitled is unbridled in its freshness, exuberant color, and monumental scale.