Creavit Deus Hominem (Synchromy Number 3: Color Counterpoint)
Morgan Russell
American, 1886–1953
1913
An intimate 1913 oil painting in which Morgan Russell arranges irregular, jewel‑like color planes to translate musical ideas into visual rhythm as part of his Synchromy experiments.
You encounter a mosaic of tilted, interlocking shards—deep blues, purples, reds, greens and a central warm yellow—applied with visible brushstrokes so the colors pulse and circulate like a compact orchestral score.
A key example of Synchromism, this small work helped assert color as the primary expressive element in early American abstraction, paralleling European experiments in color and paving the way for later nonrepresentational painting.
Medium
Oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard
Dimensions
11 7/8 x 10 1/4" (30.2 x 26 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Given anonymously
Accession
149.1951
Palette
Exhibitions
