Cy Twombly's 'Treatise on the Veil' Explores Duration and Myth at Morgan Library
Cy Twombly's 'Treatise on the Veil (Second Version),' a painting from 1970, was showcased at The Morgan Library & Museum between September 26, 2014, and January 25, 2015. This piece, measuring roughly ten by thirty-three feet and created in Rome, employs a gray-and-white color scheme while drawing inspiration from Pierre Henry's 1953 work 'Le Voile d'Orphée.' It features semi-readable notations made with white wax crayon. An earlier iteration from 1968 resides at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. The exhibition also included twelve untitled drawings from 1968, which examined themes of seriality and modularity, along with a 1972 drawing that incorporated a photograph of a veiled bride. Influences included Eadweard Muybridge and Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry. The painting was lent by the Menil Collection.
Key facts
- Cy Twombly's 'Treatise on the Veil (Second Version)' was exhibited at The Morgan Library & Museum from September 26, 2014 to January 25, 2015
- The painting measures roughly 10 by 33 feet and was created in Rome in 1970
- It references Pierre Henry's 1953 musique concrète work 'Le Voile d'Orphée' based on the Orpheus myth
- An earlier 1968 version hangs at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne
- The exhibition included twelve untitled drawings from 1968 that function as studies with collage elements
- A 1972 drawing features four labeled modules and a photograph of a bridal figure
- Exhibition literature cites Eadweard Muybridge's study of a veiled bride as another source
- The painting was on loan from the Menil Collection for the exhibition
Entities
Artists
- Cy Twombly
- Pierre Henry
- Pierre Schaeffer
- Eadweard Muybridge
- Rainer Maria Rilke
Institutions
- The Morgan Library & Museum
- Menil Collection
- Museum Ludwig
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Rome
- Italy
- Cologne
- Germany
- 225 Madison Avenue