Drawing with Sculptured Hand
Marisol (Marisol Escobar)
Venezuelan and American, born France 1930–2016
1960
A small mixed-media work in which colored pencil, graphite, and acrylic on cut cardboard is combined with a plaster cast of a hand so that a sculptural fragment literally intrudes into a lightly sketched portrait, collapsing drawing and object.
A ghostly, pale profile and faint line-drawn hands hover on the cardboard until your eye lands on the rough white plaster hand with painted nails that projects forward, its shadow and smudges forcing a tactile confrontation with the delicate drawing.
Dating from 1960, this hybrid drawing–sculpture exemplifies Marisol’s experiment of bringing cast body parts into picture space to challenge traditional portraiture and blur the boundaries between image, object, and the physical self.
Medium
Colored pencil, graphite, and acrylic on cut cardboard with plaster cast
Dimensions
14 × 11" (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis in honor of Edgar Wachenheim III
Accession
203.2023
Palette
Exhibitions
