Painting Collection


Man Ray

The Red Knight

 

American, 1890-1976
The Red Knight
1938
oil on canvas
1959.2

45 5/8 x 35 1/4 inches

American artist Man Ray is best known for his experiments in photography and film, his affiliations with the Surrealists in Paris, and his longtime friendship with Marcel Duchamp. Man Ray worked across mediums throughout his career but often returned to painting, stating: “I paint what I cannot photograph. My dreams, for instance. And I photograph what I cannot paint.” Along with his Dada and Surrealist contemporaries, Man Ray was also deeply interested in the game of chess, as an intellectual activity and a metaphor for the creative process. In The Red Knight, Man Ray paints exaggerated chess pieces floating above a board placed askew, as if an outlandish game come to life.


 

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