Les Papillons de Nagasaki

1962

Mario Avati

Associated Names
Mario Avati

Artist, French, 1921 - 2009

The image depicts vertical, slender stalks with pointed tips scattered across the composition. Three large, elongated leaf-like shapes intersect the stalks, featuring speckled patterns. The scene conveys a resemblance to butterflies among tall grass or reeds under a starry night sky. The presence of curved forms that mirror butterfly wings is accentuated by their spotted textures. The overall impression is of a fantastical, nocturnal garden with abstract representations of natural elements and butterflies in flight.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and aquatint on BFK Rives wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1964.8.43

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Passeron, Vol. III, no. 326, State iv/iv


Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1973

  • Passeron, Roger. Mario Avati l'oeuvre grave. Paris: La Bibliotheque des Arts, 1973-1979.

Inscriptions

recto: below plate, from left to right, in graphite: 2/50 LES PAPILLONS DE NAGASAKE AVATI 62; verso: none

Markings

none

Watermarks

BFK

Wikidata ID

Q65511170

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