
Transparence
1932
Francis Picabia's 1932 work 'Transparence' combines ink and charcoal on paper to create layered, semi-transparent forms. This composition exemplifies Picabia's Dadaist and abstract explorations of visual perception and artistic technique.
- Medium
- ink and charcoal on paper
- Location
- Sotheby's, New York, NY
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Sotheby'sView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Art Impressionniste et Moderne Day Sale
March 18, 2021
Estimate: $50,000 to $80,000
Lot 213
More by Francis Picabia
Spotted works by Francis Picabia
Artists in conversation

Man Ray
American · b. 1890

Man Ray shared Picabia's Dadaist sensibility and experimented with layered, semi-transparent forms in works on paper that dissolve the boundary between figuration and abstraction. His gestural ink and charcoal drawings echo the ethereal, experimental quality of Transparence.

Hans Arp
French-German · b. 1886

Arp created biomorphic abstract compositions with a similarly ethereal and layered quality, rooted in the Dada movement that Picabia helped define. His works on paper share the monochromatic, gestural character and fluid overlapping forms visible in Transparence.

Kurt Schwitters
German · b. 1887

Schwitters worked within the Dada tradition to create experimental compositions that layer fragile, translucent visual elements with ink and charcoal on paper. His abstract works share the semi-transparent, ghostly formal quality and monochromatic experimental approach found in Transparence.
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