Mosaic
Date1917
Artist
John Sloan
(American painter, etcher, and illustrator, 1871–1951)
MediumEtching and aquatint
Dimensionsplate: 7 3/4 × 9 3/4 in. (19.7 × 24.8 cm)
sheet: 10 15/16 × 13 15/16 in. (27.8 × 35.4 cm)
sheet: 10 15/16 × 13 15/16 in. (27.8 × 35.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1998
Object number1998-131
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPRINT
Label TextSloan said, "This plate is a satire on abstract art, and implies that followers of this trend are obeying the Mosiac 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." Sloan criticized abstract art for two reasons: it confounded most viewers and many artists created abstract art to swim with the tide of current fashion.
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