Rhythms

Robert Delaunay, 1934

Rhythms, painted by Robert Delaunay in 1934, belongs to the period in which the artist returned to Orphism, the current he developed from pure colour and the simultaneous contrast of hues. The composition rests on circular forms, discs and arcs that overlap and echo one another, creating a sense of turning motion that gives the work its title. Set against these curves are a few straight lines that act as counterpoint and help organise the whole. Rather than depicting a recognisable object, the painting seeks to translate music and visual rhythm into paint, using a vibrant palette in which colours relate through contrast and harmony. Its importance lies in showing how Delaunay's abstraction grew out of his study of colour and harmony, and in the role this line of work played in modern art. The painting is held at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris.

Painter: Robert Delaunay
Date: 1934
Medium: oil paint, canvas
Dimensions: 145 × 113 cm
Museum: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris
Movement: Orphism
Genre: abstract art
Depicts: circle, line

Share:Facebook WhatsApp

More works by Robert Delaunay

**Champs de Mars, the Red Tower**1911Art Institute of Chicago

**Still Life with a Parrot**1907Unterlinden Museum

**Portuguese Woman**1916Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

**Portrait of Tristan Tzara**1923Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

**Hommage to Blériot**1914Kunstmuseum Basel

**Windows Open**1912Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

**Rythme n°1, décoration pour le Salon des Tuileries**1938Musée d'art moderne de Paris

**Rhythm, Joie de vivre**1930Musée National d'Art Moderne

**The Eiffel Tower**1926Musée National d'Art Moderne

**Carousel of Pigs**1922Musée National d'Art Moderne