On Four Walls
Georges Braque
French, 1882–1963
1951
This lithograph poster finds Georges Braque translating his cubist language—fragmented planes, looping calligraphic lines, and simplified bird and hand motifs—into a lively image to announce a Galerie Maeght exhibition.
A tall, black vertical field is alive with a single chalky, continuous line that loops into birdlike heads and disembodied hands, while collaged-looking blue and ochre shapes and bright yellow lettering (‘SUR 4 MURS’) punctuate the composition.
By turning his painterly cubist vocabulary into a bold poster, Braque blurred the boundary between fine art and graphic design and demonstrated how modern artists could shape public visual culture and ways of seeing.
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
28 1/2 × 16 1/4" (72.4 × 41.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Galerie Maeght
Accession
145.1952
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
