Romare Bearden (1911-1988)

Bearden was always concerned with the underlying geometry of his compositions.

In 1968 he described his collage practice: "I first put down several rectangles of color some of which…are in the same ratio as…the rectangle that I'm working on. [Then] I paste a photograph, say, anything just to get me started, maybe a head, at certain—a few—places in the canvas…I try to move up and across the canvas, always moving up and across. If I tear anything, I tear it up and across. What I am trying to do then is establish a vertical and horizontal control of the canvas. I don't like to get into too many slanting movements...."

Materials from Bearden’s Studio

Bearden At Work: Collage Materials

• Newspapers• Acrylic• Fiberboard• Bleaching• Brayer/roller• Magazines:• Charcoal• Cardboard• Scissors• Ebony• Colored pencil• Harper's Bazaar• Paper Sanding • Life• McCall's• Ink

• Vogue• Sample catalogues• Oil• Photostats• Pins• Art reproductions• Spray paint• Foil• String• Fabric• Watercolor• Tape • Wallpaper • Gift wrap • Rice Paper

Compositional Themes

For compositional inspiration, Bearden looked to the "carefully planned structures" of the Dutch masters.

Comparing His Work To Older Work of Dutch Masters

Bearden explained: "Because many of the paintings I was doing were of interiors… I began to look again at Vermeer and Pieter de Hooch and Jan Steen. I found that, especially with Vermeer and Steen, a lot of the work was controlled by the use of rectangles over rectangles. I really think the art of painting is the art of putting something over something else."

Found Material Collages

Over time Bearden's repertoire of collage materials expanded to include strips of wallpaper, posters, fabrics, foils, miscellaneous found materials, and paper he printed and painted himself. To some areas he added spray paint; he masked others to create crisp edges. In the 1970s Bearden began to enhance the surface texture and color by using abrasion, bleaching, and puddling techniques. Circular markings on works of the 1970s were possibly made with an electric eraser.

Painterly Collages