Untitled [state proof of 4th state]
2001
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
etching and aquatint in black on wove paper [state proof]
Dimensions
plate: 43.5 x 67.31 cm (17 1/8 x 26 1/2 in.) sheet: 56.2 x 78.74 cm (22 1/8 x 31 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund and Special Friends of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
2010.116.445
Art Historical Context
Jasper Johns, a pivotal figure in postwar American art, is renowned for his innovative use everyday symbols—like flags, targets, and numbers—that blurred the lines between fine art and popular culture. *Untitled [state proof 4th state]* from 2001 exemplifies his late-career mastery of printmaking. Created as a black etching and aquatint onove paper, the work measures 43.5 x 67.31 cm on the plate, showcasing Johns' precise control over line and tone in a monochromatic palette. State proofs like this one are fascinating trial impressions pulled from the printing plate during its evolution—here,...
About the Artist
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker whose revolutionary work fundamentally transformed the trajectory of postwar American art. Emerging in the 1950s when Abstract Expressionism dominated the New York art world, Johns introduced a radically different approach by painting familiar, everyday symbols—flags, targets, numbers, and maps—that he des...