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Couplet IV

Couplet IV

Brice Marden
American, 1938–2023
1988-89
A tall oil-on-linen painting in which Marden overlays translucent, calligraphic bands of color to trace shifting rhythms and relationships between line and space.
Airy, looping bands of gray, blue, yellow, and green cross and recross like a luminous skeletal web, their thin washes revealing delicate overlaps while the pale ground breathes between them.
This Couplet shows Marden’s shift from Minimalist austerity to a lyrical abstraction that fused calligraphic gesture with subtle chromatic layering, expanding how line and space could structure modern painting.
Medium
Oil on linen
Dimensions
9' x 60" (274.3 x 152.4 cm)
Classification
Credit
Gift of Kathy and Richard S. Fuld, Jr.
Accession
979.2005
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
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Very Similar

> 65%
Return I 80%

Return I

Brice Marden

1964-65

Return I 80% Brice Marden 1964-65 Oil on canvas Painting Painting & Sculpture 50 1/4 x 68 1/4" (127.6 x 1... American 977.2005
Study II 78%

Study II

Brice Marden

1981

Study II 78% Brice Marden 1981 Oil and pencil on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 18 1/2 x 39 1/2" (47 x 100.... American 119.2002
Untitled 77%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1971

Untitled 77% Brice Marden 1971 Oil and pencil on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 22 3/8 x 30 1/2" (56.8 x 77... American 120.2002
The Propitious Garden of Plane Image, Third Version 77%

The Propitious Garden of Plane Image, Third Version

Brice Marden

2000-06

The Propitious Garden of Plane Image, Third Version 77% Brice Marden 2000-06 Oil on linen, six panels Painting Painting & Sculpture 6 x 24' (182.9 x 731.5 cm) American 698.2006
Avrutun 75%

Avrutun

Brice Marden

1971

Avrutun 75% Brice Marden 1971 Oil and wax on canvas, two panels Painting Painting & Sculpture 6' x 36" (182.9 x 91.4 cm) American 189.1996
Vine 73%

Vine

Brice Marden

1992-93

Vine 73% Brice Marden 1992-93 Oil on linen Painting Painting & Sculpture 8' x 8' 6 1/2" (243.8 x 260... American 190.1996
Grove Group I 73%

Grove Group I

Brice Marden

1972-73

Grove Group I 73% Brice Marden 1972-73 Oil and wax on canvas Painting Painting & Sculpture 72 1/2 × 9' 1/8" (184.2 × 2... American 151.1973
Greyer Muses 72%

Greyer Muses

Brice Marden

1999, published 2001

Greyer Muses 72% Brice Marden 1999, published 2001 Etching and lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition: 17 1/16 x 26 3... American 1489.2001
4 Howell Paper Drawings 71%

4 Howell Paper Drawings

Brice Marden

1996

4 Howell Paper Drawings 71% Brice Marden 1996 Ink and synthetic polymer paint on ha... Drawing Drawings & Prints American 2324.2005.1-4
Untitled 71%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1982

Untitled 71% Brice Marden 1982 Ink and gouache on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 10 x 9 5/8" (25.5 x 24.5 cm) American 316.1983
4 Howell Paper Drawings 71%

4 Howell Paper Drawings

Brice Marden

1996

4 Howell Paper Drawings 71% Brice Marden 1996 Ink, gouache, and synthetic polymer p... Drawing Drawings & Prints 10 x 8 1/4" (25.4 x 21 cm) American 2324.2005.2
4 Howell Paper Drawings 70%

4 Howell Paper Drawings

Brice Marden

1996

4 Howell Paper Drawings 70% Brice Marden 1996 Ink on handmade paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 10 1/2 x 8 1/4" (26.7 x 21 cm) American 2324.2005.4
Untitled 70%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1962

Untitled 70% Brice Marden 1962 Charcoal and pencil on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 14 3/8 x 17" (36.5 x 43.2 cm) American 769.2012
Muses with Graphite 70%

Muses with Graphite

Brice Marden

1999, published 2001

Muses with Graphite 70% Brice Marden 1999, published 2001 Lithograph with pencil additions Print Drawings & Prints composition: 17 1/16 x 26 3... American 1490.2001
4 Howell Paper Drawings 70%

4 Howell Paper Drawings

Brice Marden

1996

4 Howell Paper Drawings 70% Brice Marden 1996 Ink and synthetic polymer paint on ha... Drawing Drawings & Prints 10 1/2 x 8 1/4" (26.7 x 21 cm) American 2324.2005.1
Untitled 70%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1964-65

Untitled 70% Brice Marden 1964-65 Charcoal, pencil, and colored pencil ... Drawing Drawings & Prints 16 x 20" (40.8 x 51 cm) American 835.1969
Untitled 70%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1969

Untitled 70% Brice Marden 1969 Pencil and beeswax on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 22 x 29 1/2" (55.9 x 74.9 cm) American 2319.2005
Houston Drawing 3 70%

Houston Drawing 3

Brice Marden

1973

Houston Drawing 3 70% Brice Marden 1973 Charcoal on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 41 x 29 1/2" (104.1 x 74.9 cm) American 2591.2001
Annunciation Study I 70%

Annunciation Study I

Brice Marden

1978

Annunciation Study I 70% Brice Marden 1978 Pencil and beeswax on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 22 1/8 x 29 5/8" (56.8 x 75... American 925.1983
Painting Study 1 70%

Painting Study 1

Brice Marden

1974

Painting Study 1 70% Brice Marden 1974 Screenprint with wax additions Print Drawings & Prints composition 9 1/2 x 6 11/1... American 541.1976
Untitled 70%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1973

Untitled 70% Brice Marden 1973 Screenprint Print Drawings & Prints irreg. composition 19 1/4 ... American 677.1993
4 Howell Paper Drawings 69%

4 Howell Paper Drawings

Brice Marden

1996

4 Howell Paper Drawings 69% Brice Marden 1996 Ink and synthetic polymer paint on ha... Drawing Drawings & Prints 10 1/4 x 8" (26 x 20.3 cm) American 2324.2005.3
Muses Drawing 5 (Mnemosyne) 69%

Muses Drawing 5 (Mnemosyne)

Brice Marden

1989-91

Muses Drawing 5 (Mnemosyne) 69% Brice Marden 1989-91 Ink and ink wash on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 26 x 40 5/8" (66 x 103.2 cm) American 131.2004
Grove Group 2 69%

Grove Group 2

Brice Marden

1972

Grove Group 2 69% Brice Marden 1972 Pencil and beeswax on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 22 x 30" (55.9 x 76.2 cm) American 97.2005.2
Untitled 69%

Untitled

Brice Marden

1970–72

Untitled 69% Brice Marden 1970–72 Pencil and beeswax on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 26 x 40" (66.1 x 101.6 cm) American 211.1996
Untitled from Five Plates 68%

Untitled from Five Plates

Brice Marden

1973

Untitled from Five Plates 68% Brice Marden 1973 Etching and aquatint from a portfolio... Print Drawings & Prints plate: 27 7/16 x 19 9/16" (... American 14.1975.3
Painting Study 2 68%

Painting Study 2

Brice Marden

1974

Painting Study 2 68% Brice Marden 1974 Screenprint with wax and graphite add... Print Drawings & Prints composition 9 5/8 x 6 3/4"... American 542.1976
Eagles Mere Muses 68%

Eagles Mere Muses

Brice Marden

1999, published 2001

Eagles Mere Muses 68% Brice Marden 1999, published 2001 Etching and lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition: 17 1/16 x 26 3... American 1488.2001
Untitled, plate a from the series Adriatics 68%

Untitled, plate a from the series Adriatics

Brice Marden

1973

Untitled, plate a from the series Adriatics 68% Brice Marden 1973 Etching and aquatint Print Drawings & Prints plate 23 3/4 x 14 3/16" (6... American 393.1981
Grove Group 4 68%

Grove Group 4

Brice Marden

1972

Grove Group 4 68% Brice Marden 1972 Pencil and beeswax on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 22 x 30" (55.9 x 76.2 cm) American 97.2005.4
Beyond Eagles Mere 2 68%

Beyond Eagles Mere 2

Brice Marden

1999, published 2001

Beyond Eagles Mere 2 68% Brice Marden 1999, published 2001 Etching and lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition: 17 1/16 x 26 3... American 1487.2001
Suicide Notes 68%

Suicide Notes

Brice Marden

1972

Suicide Notes 68% Brice Marden 1972 Ink on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 11 3/4 x 7 3/4" (29.8 x 19.... American 2321.2005