Music of the Spheres
1944
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color screenprint on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 48.8 x 34.2 cm (19 3/16 x 13 7/16 in.) sheet: 69.9 x 50.5 cm (27 1/2 x 19 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Jacob Kainen
Accession Number
2002.98.345
Art Historical Context
**Music of the Spheres by Max Ackermann, in 1944, is a striking color screenprint on w paper, measuring 48.8 x 34.2 cm (image) and 69.9 x 50.5 cm (sheet). Housed in the National Gallery Art's CG-W Department as a gifted print from Jacob Kainen, it the essence of mid-20th-century abstraction during World War II. The smooth wove paper provides an ideal surface for the screenprint technique, which layers vibrant colors with precision and flat intensity, allowing for bold, graphic effects suited to the print medium. The evocative title refers to the ancient philosophical idea of the "music of the...