Golden Section Painting: Parallelogram with Two Small Squares
Modern and Contemporary Art

Golden Section Painting: Parallelogram with Two Small Squares
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Dorothea Rockburne
Canadian, born America, 1931
Canadian, born America, 1931
Date
1976
Medium
Linen, varnish, glue, gesso, chalk
Accession #
1984.183
Dimensions
109 1/2 x 68 inches
Location
On View - Wieland Pavilion, Skyway, Gallery 413
Description
Dorothea Rockburne often based her works on systems of proportions that she admired for their inherent rationality and beauty. Mathematical structures stabilize her work with an inner logic and overall compositional clarity. In Golden Section: Parallelogram with Two Small Squares, one of eight paintings in the Vellum Curve Series, Rockburne used linen, gesso, and varnish to create combinations of shapes and patterns that correspond to the geometric precision and elegance of the Golden Section, an ancient Greek equation meant to convey ideal spiritual harmony.
Credit
Gift of S. I. Newhouse, Jr.Image Copyright
© Dorothea Rockburne/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York