Ventriloquist [trial proof]
1985
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
color lithograph on wove paper [trial proof]
Dimensions
sheet: 104.14 x 71.12 cm (41 x 28 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
2010.116.119
Art Historical Context
Jasper Johns's *Ventriloquist [trial proof (1985) is a captivating color lithograph on wove paper, measuring 41 x 28 inches, from the National Gallery of's collection. As a trial proof, this print represents an experimental stage in the printing process, where the artist tests colors, composition, and registration before approving the final edition. Lithography, a planographic technique invented in the late 18th century, at reproducing subtle tones and vibrant hues, making it ideal for Johns's intricate layering of forms. Johns, a towering figure in post-World War II American art, bridged Abs...
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...