Motherwell, Robert "A la Pintura: Blue 5" Limited Edition Print Aquatint and Lift-Ground Etching 1972
Size
32 x 48 in
Framed Size
34 x 50 in
Hand Signed
Edition #
AP
Certificate of Authenticity
Original Bill of Sale
Framed with Plexiglass
Provenance & Extra Info
Publisher: ULAE. Printer: Donn Steward. Engberg/Banach Catalogue Raisonne #119. From Robert Motherwell’s unqualified masterpiece “A la Pintura”. The full sheet of the print entitled “Blue 5” signed by Motherwell in back ink (see photo). One of only eight extremely rare artists’ proofs signed in Motherwell’s hand “RM Trial 1972-1979” as referenced in the Sparks ULAE Catalogue Raisonne as MOTHERWELL # 24. It is unusual to find the individual color plates signed by Motherwell himself. In the final book edition of 40 copies only the colophon page is signed -- not the individual prints themselves. The “A la Pintura” project of 21 original intaglio prints was nearly four years in the making and was created to illuminate the text of a poem by Rafael Alberti. John McKendry, print curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art believes ”Motherwell has concentrated so much of his creativity into these pages that if all his paintings and other works were to be destroyed, if only this book were to survive, Motherwell would still be seen as a major artist of the twentieth century.” This print is the only print in the book whose format is a perfect square. It is Motherwell’s meditation on the color blue. It is also unusual because an entire page is devoted to only one verse of the poem. The text reads as follows: “Wings seize our brushes when we dip them in indigo.” Much has been written about these book pages and they have been widely reproduced but they must be seen “in person” to experience the full impact of their intense color and beauty.
