Modern and Contemporary Art A.D. 1914 1914 Man Ray, American, 1890 - 1976 Oil on canvas Currently not on view 1944-90-1 A. E. Gallatin Collection, 1944 |
LabelA.D. 1914 reflects Man Ray's keen political and aesthetic awareness in the early years of the twentieth century. Like other Dadaists, Man Ray was alarmed by the onset of World War I. Inspired by the European art he saw in the 1913 Armory Show in New York, he portrayed the specter of war by borrowing from the modernist language of Cubism. This painting's horizontal format is based on ancient Roman friezes, and the date in Roman numerals links the contemporary conflict to the wars of antiquity. |
