Fig Branch (Figue) 1965 - 1966

Ellsworth Kelly made "Fig Branch," also known as "Figue," as a lithograph on paper. Kelly was a veteran of World War II. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. During this time, he moved away from representational painting and drawing. Instead, Kelly focused on form and space. This piece is not exactly representational, but it's not abstract either. Kelly’s time in France deeply influenced his artistic journey, exposing him to Romanesque art, Cubism, and Surrealism. You might consider how his experiences of war and subsequent immersion in art led him to create simplified works such as "Fig Branch," using a refined line to capture the essence of his subject. What does it feel like to focus so intensely on the structure and form of a natural object?