Cut Paper Drawing
1982
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 24.3 x 18.1 cm (9 9/16 x 7 1/8 in.) mount: 37.6 x 30.9 cm (14 13/16 x 12 3/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Frederick Sommer
Accession Number
1995.5.8
Art Historical Context
Frederick Sommer’s "Cut Paper Drawing" from 1982 offers a striking example of how can transform simple materials into evocative visual statements. Created as a gelatin silver print, the work captures the delicate interplay of light and shadow across cut paper forms. This traditional photographic process, known for its rich tonal and fine detail, allows artist to preserve the intricate textures and edges of the paper construction with remarkable clarity. Measuring just under ten inches in height, the intimate scale of the image invites close viewing, while the larger mount provides a formal pr...
About the Artist
Frederick Sommer
Frederick Sommer (1905–1999) was one of the most singular and philosophically searching visual artists of twentieth-century America, a figure who defied easy categorization as he moved between photography, drawing, collage, and theoretical writing across a career spanning more than six decades. Born in Angri, Italy, and raised in Brazil, Sommer earned a master's degree in landscape architecture fr...