82.21 Danse Macabre (Group Terror #41)

1952

Serigraph, 14 1/2 x 20 7/8" (36.5 x 52.7 cm)

Signed, lr: 10/50 Archipenko

Provenance: Alexander Archipenko 1952

According to Karshan, this work is one of the first five serigraphs that Archipenko made. Karshan entitles the piece Performance and states that “surviving impressions are rare.”

According to Pohl’s own notes on the back of the print’s original frame (not always a reliable source of information), this work was purchase directly from the artist. It seems unlikely, despite her penchant for elaboration, that Pohl would have devised such a complicated alternative title on her own. It is, then, possible that she did purchase the piece from the artist, who had himself given it this title. Pohl also noted that the print was completed with “special hand pressure,” referring to the artist’s own participation in the serigraphic process.

As Karshan points out, Archipenko found serigraphy to be a preferred technique, because the process could be completed entirely in his studio. Of particular interest here is the fact that the artist was able to use a dark background with strong yellow lines as contours. The effect is particularly bold since the stylized figures appear as glowing forms dancing in the dark.

When one views such prints by Archipenko, one recognizes immediately the artist’s sculptural concerns. Inspired by the Cubists’ breakdown of forms, he sought to convey the essence of movement and the human body through a depiction of the intersection of geometric shapes. This figure could easily be transposed into one of many stone and plaster figures which Archipenko also completed at the time. That Archipenko published this print in Die Schaffenden series indicates that he was already a recognized artist in Germany by the time he moved there in 1921.