Red Tensions

Currently not on view

Red Tensions

1933

Jean Hélion (French, 1904–1987)

Red Tensions is a painting about opposing forces in balance. Indeed, it centers on a configuration that evokes devices for weighing known as balance scales—though this configuration exists in an abstract picture space where the familiar rules of weight and direction do not apply. The balancing act derives from contrasts in the geometric forms of rings, rectangles, and other more varied shapes with both straight lines and curves, as well as in their tones of red, brown, copper, and warm gray. The elements are painted smooth and flat, apart from the largest one, where a change from burnt umber to darker brown introduces a hint of volumetric modeling through color. Jean Hélion worked through many variations on this type of structure in suspension and tension from 1932 to 1935.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Red Tensions

Date:

1933

Artist:

Jean Hélion (French, 1904–1987)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

23 3/4 × 28 5/8 inches (60.3 × 72.7 cm) Framed: 25 1/4 × 30 3/8 × 2 inches (64.1 × 77.2 × 5.1 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950

Accession Number:

1950-134-99

Geography:

Made in United States, North and Central America

Provenance

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Currently not on view