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Mosaic

Date1917

MediumEtching and aquatint

Dimensionsplate: 7 11/16 × 9 11/16 in. (19.5 × 24.6 cm)
sheet: 12 1/8 × 13 7/8 in. (30.8 × 35.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1965

Object number1965-20.108

On View

Not on view

Label TextSloan said, "This plate is a satire on abstract art, and implies that followers of this trend are obeying the Mosaic Law." The Mosaic Law embedded in the image is: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth."

As a devoted humanist, Sloan endeavored to capture and communicate the human experience in his work. He appreciated abstract art in that it had the capacity to encourage artists to use the basic tools of line, color and composition in a disciplined way. However, he criticized abstract art because it confounded most viewers, and he believed that many artists created abstract art just to swim with the tide of current fashion.