Corpse & Mirror
25 3/4 by 19 3/4 inchesCorpse and Mirror
(ULAE 167), 1976
paper: 25 3/4 by 19 3/4 inches
image: 10 1/2 x 14 inches
frame: 26 1/2 x 20 6/8 inches
edition: 50 with 10 AP's & 2 PP's
signed & dated in pencil "J Johns '76" lower right
numbered in pencil lower left
printed by Atelier Crommelynck
published by Petersburg Press, 1976
© 2024 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Literature
Richard Field, Jasper Johns Prints 1970-1977, Wesleyan University, Middletown, 1978, Catalogue Reference 209, p. 105, another impression reproduced in black and white
Michel Butor, Kathleen Slavin, Jasper Johns Gravures Dessins 1960-1991, Foundation Vincent Van Gogh, 1992, no. 58, pg. 106, another impression reproduced in full-page color.
Richard Field, The Prints of Jasper Johns 1960-1993: A Catalogue Raisonne, ULAE, New York, 1994, Catalogue Reference ULAE 167, n.p., another impression reproduced in full-page black and white.
Exhibited
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Recent Acquisitions: American Prints, Nov 16,1978–Feb 20, 1979, another impression exhibited.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Jasper Johns: A Print Retrospective, May 19, 1986–Aug 19, 1986, another impression exhibited.
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Jasper Johns, Prints and Multiples, May 15, 1992-August 23, 1992, this impression exhibited.
Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jasper Johns, Prints and Multiples, September 19, 1992-November 15, 1992, this impression exhibited.
University Art Gallery, State University of New York at Albany, Jasper Johns, Prints and Multiples, March 2, 1993-April, 23 1993, this impression exhibited,
The University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta, December 13, 1992-January 31, 1993, this impression exhibited.
The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Modern Bias / Contemporary Viewpoints, February 22, 1996-March, 31, 1996, this impression exhibited.
Selected Museum Collections
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
National Gallery of Art, Australia
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Additional Photos
Image Detail
Signature & Date lower right
Edition number lower left
Museum Exhibition labels
Like in the Cicada crosshatch images, in the Corpse & Mirror prints, Johns sought to evoke a New form, one that is growing and splitting in new visual directions. "The Cicada title has to do with the image of something bursting through its skin, which is what they do. You have all those shells where the back splits and they've emerged. And basically that kind of splitting form is what I tried to suggest." Johns illustrated this splitting by employing lines of primary and secondary colors.
JASPER JOHNS CORPSE & MIRROR
Beginning with his 1972 painting Untitled, Jasper Johns developed his motif of crosshatched lines, experimenting with colors, patterns, mirroring and reversals. According to the artist, the inspiration for his crosshatched works came from a pattern he glimpsed on a car that quickly passed him on a highway, "I only saw it for a second, but knew immediately that I was going to use it. It had all the qualities that interest me – literalness, repetitiveness, an obsessive quality, order with dumbness, and the possibility of a complete lack of meaning." Over the next ten years, Johns produced many variations on the crosshatch theme in paintings, drawings and prints.
Corpse and Mirror, 1976
Unique Trial proof numbered 3/5
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Like in the Cicada crosshatch images, in the Corpse & Mirror prints, Johns sought to evoke a New form, one that is growing and splitting in new visual directions. "The Cicada title has to do with the image of something bursting through its skin, which is what they do. You have all those shells where the back splits and they've emerged. And basically that kind of splitting form is what I tried to suggest." Johns illustrated this splitting by employing lines of primary and secondary colors.
Throughout his career, Johns experimented with showing the same idea differently, repeating forms and motifs in various media. As evidenced by his work from the 1970s and early 1980s, the crosshatch motif lent itself exceptionally well to this working method. Printmaking allowed Johns to elaborate on his compositional ideas and his printmaking influenced his painting just as much as his paintings influenced his prints. In fact, the use of crosshatching in both prints and paintings is significant. Johns has taken a technique historically used in drawing and printmaking to evoke shade and depth, making it the subject of his work. Variantions and unique works from this series can be view in the extensive collection Jasper Johns donated to the National Gallery of Art.
Author and Project Director at the Wildenstein Institute Roberta Bernstein observes: "the crosshatchings are the first Jasper Johns paintings that can be properly called abstract, though they are more like drawings than the gestural abstractions of Jackson Pollock or Jack Tworkov, and they bristle with citations from Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, the Surrealists, and other early-twentieth-century figures."
The condition of Jasper Johns prints plays a pivotal role in preserving the integrity and value of these artworks. The presence of mat staining, fox marks, and attenuated colors can significantly impact the overall aesthetic and historical integrity of these artworks. When considering a purchase of a Jasper Johns print, it is crucial to be wary of dealers who claim prints are in good condition despite such issues, as this may be a deliberate attempt to mislead buyers. Transparency is imperative in the art market and dealers who purposefully omit condition details are not acting in the best interest of the collector. It is also advisable to avoid dealers who artificially enhance colors in photos, distorting the true condition of the artwork. Choosing dealers who provide accurate representations, even if it reveals imperfections, ensures that buyers make well-informed decisions, maintaining the authenticity and value of Jasper Johns prints over time.
