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Bearden commented, “What I am trying to do is establish a vertical and a horizontal control of the canvas. … I’d like the language to be as classical as possible.” [2] In Alto Composite, a grid underpins the composition. Blocks of red and pink occupy the upper right corner of the collage, balanced by a blue rectangle on the left side. A strong diagonal line, however, bisects the collage from upper right to lower left. This line is formed by the side of the musician’s head at the upper right and continues down the slanting line of his saxophone. The line is broken by the musician’s hands, wrapped around the neck of his instrument. From the bell of the saxophone, a curving green arc bends up and to the right, breaking the solid blue rectangle in the background and then meeting a long thin blue rectangle running down the very center of the image.
The area below the diagonal line from the upper right to the lower left of the collage is more detailed. Bearden introduced texture here by abrading the surface, creating lighter grainy areas across the composition. This area includes the musician’s face, created from papers of black, blue, brown, and dark green. His nose is blue and yellow, his eye is pink, and his lips are red. Below his face, two bright white crescent shapes suggest a formal shirt collar, worn over a brown jacket with two red buttons at the cuff. Triangles and rhombuses in blue and green further enliven the musician’s body. The artist continues the diagonal line above the musician’s head, filling a white band which projects outside of the main area of the collage with orange circles, almost like thought bubbles in a cartoon.
Below the saxophone in the lower left, an undulating green pattern suggests waves of sound emanating from the instrument, while enigmatic black squiggles mimic musical notes. A black grid pattern evident in the background calls to mind a tiled wall. A vertical gray band at left and a red band at right create a framing device for the composition.
In spite of the vibrant color and dynamic composition, the mood that Bearden creates in the collage is one of intense concentration. The musician plays the saxophone with his eyes closed, perhaps blowing a long note requiring enormous effort. The musician becomes, in a sense, Bearden’s stand-in—both struggling, alone, to create something new.
Notes:
[1] Bearden, quoted in “The Art of Romare Bearden: A Resource for Teachers,” http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/musac2.shtm
[2] Bearden, quoted in “The Art of Romare Bearden.”
Provenance1981
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York. [1]
Notes:
[1] Loan Agreement, Letter in Object File.
Exhibition History1970-1980
Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC (1970-1980)
1981
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (4/26/1981-6/14/1981)
1981
Mississippi Museum of Art, (1/30/1981-3/29/1981)
1981
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (1981)
Cat. No. 23
1994
Joy of Living: Romare Bearden's Late Work
Diggs Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC (2/25/1994-2/28/1994)
2000
Jazz: An American Muse
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (5/4/2000-7/30/2000)
2005-2006
Paper, Leather, Wood: Materials and African American Art of the Twentieth Century
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (11/15/2005-4/16/2006)
2022
Substrata: The Spirit of Collage in 76 Years of Art
Reynolda House Musuem of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/18/2022-7/31/22)
Published ReferencesCarr, Genie. "Jazz Art, " Art View. 5, # 2 (April-May 2000): 25.
Cassidy, Donna M. "'Seeing' Musically: The Meanings of Music in 20th-century American Art" Jazz: An American Muse (Winston-Salem, NC: Reynolda House Museum of American Art, 2 000): 20 and cover illus.
Schwartzman, Myron. Romare Bearden: His Life and Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1990): illus. 235.
DepartmentCollection of Barbara B. Millhouse
Alto Composite
Artist
Romare Bearden
(1911 - 1988)
Date1974
MediumCollage with acrylic and lacquer
DimensionsFrame: 50 3/4 × 44 3/4 in. (128.9 × 113.7 cm)
Paper: 49 3/4 × 43 3/4 in. (126.4 × 111.1 cm)
Signedromare bearden
Credit LinePromised gift of Barbara B. Millhouse
Copyright© 2021 Romare Bearden Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY
Object numberIL2003.1.6
DescriptionIn comparing his preferred art form, collage, to music, Romare Bearden once said, “The more I played around with visual notions as if I were improvising like a jazz musician, the more I realized what I wanted to do as a painter and how I wanted to do it.” [1] In the collage entitled Alto Composite, the artist conveys his deep love for jazz and blues. Using highly saturated colored paper, the artist creates a stylized, Cubist-inspired saxophone player. Unlike other collages in Bearden’s 1974 Of the Blues series, which are populated with multiple figures playing music and dancing, Alto Composite includes just one musician, monumentalized against a multi-hued background. The high contrasts of red, blue, yellow, green, pink, black, and white create a sense of energy and dynamism that reflects the music which inspired the artist.Bearden commented, “What I am trying to do is establish a vertical and a horizontal control of the canvas. … I’d like the language to be as classical as possible.” [2] In Alto Composite, a grid underpins the composition. Blocks of red and pink occupy the upper right corner of the collage, balanced by a blue rectangle on the left side. A strong diagonal line, however, bisects the collage from upper right to lower left. This line is formed by the side of the musician’s head at the upper right and continues down the slanting line of his saxophone. The line is broken by the musician’s hands, wrapped around the neck of his instrument. From the bell of the saxophone, a curving green arc bends up and to the right, breaking the solid blue rectangle in the background and then meeting a long thin blue rectangle running down the very center of the image.
The area below the diagonal line from the upper right to the lower left of the collage is more detailed. Bearden introduced texture here by abrading the surface, creating lighter grainy areas across the composition. This area includes the musician’s face, created from papers of black, blue, brown, and dark green. His nose is blue and yellow, his eye is pink, and his lips are red. Below his face, two bright white crescent shapes suggest a formal shirt collar, worn over a brown jacket with two red buttons at the cuff. Triangles and rhombuses in blue and green further enliven the musician’s body. The artist continues the diagonal line above the musician’s head, filling a white band which projects outside of the main area of the collage with orange circles, almost like thought bubbles in a cartoon.
Below the saxophone in the lower left, an undulating green pattern suggests waves of sound emanating from the instrument, while enigmatic black squiggles mimic musical notes. A black grid pattern evident in the background calls to mind a tiled wall. A vertical gray band at left and a red band at right create a framing device for the composition.
In spite of the vibrant color and dynamic composition, the mood that Bearden creates in the collage is one of intense concentration. The musician plays the saxophone with his eyes closed, perhaps blowing a long note requiring enormous effort. The musician becomes, in a sense, Bearden’s stand-in—both struggling, alone, to create something new.
Notes:
[1] Bearden, quoted in “The Art of Romare Bearden: A Resource for Teachers,” http://www.nga.gov/education/classroom/bearden/musac2.shtm
[2] Bearden, quoted in “The Art of Romare Bearden.”
Provenance1981
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York. [1]
Notes:
[1] Loan Agreement, Letter in Object File.
Exhibition History1970-1980
Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC (1970-1980)
1981
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (4/26/1981-6/14/1981)
1981
Mississippi Museum of Art, (1/30/1981-3/29/1981)
1981
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (1981)
Cat. No. 23
1994
Joy of Living: Romare Bearden's Late Work
Diggs Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC (2/25/1994-2/28/1994)
2000
Jazz: An American Muse
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (5/4/2000-7/30/2000)
2005-2006
Paper, Leather, Wood: Materials and African American Art of the Twentieth Century
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (11/15/2005-4/16/2006)
2022
Substrata: The Spirit of Collage in 76 Years of Art
Reynolda House Musuem of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/18/2022-7/31/22)
Published ReferencesCarr, Genie. "Jazz Art, " Art View. 5, # 2 (April-May 2000): 25.
Cassidy, Donna M. "'Seeing' Musically: The Meanings of Music in 20th-century American Art" Jazz: An American Muse (Winston-Salem, NC: Reynolda House Museum of American Art, 2 000): 20 and cover illus.
Schwartzman, Myron. Romare Bearden: His Life and Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1990): illus. 235.
Status
On viewCollections