Joseph Albers - Homage to the Square

00277 Josef Albers Hommage au carre 1966 — Hymn to the Square 76.2x76.2cm 1966 Collection of the Centre Pompidou

00278 Josef Albers Hommage au carre 1966 — Hymn to the Square 121x121cm 1966 Collection of the Centre Pompidou

00279 Josef Albers Hommage au carre 1966 — Hymn to the Square 121x121cm 1966 Collection of the Centre Pompidou

Joseph Albers (1888-1976) moved to the United States after the Bauhaus in Germany was closed by the Nazi Party in 1933. He taught at Black Mountain College and served as head of the Painting and Design Department at Yale University from 1950 to 1960. His painting style is typical of the Bauhaus: systematic, orderly, yet experimental, particularly in his exploration of visual illusions.

Starting in 1948, he focused on the interaction between colors, creating his most famous series, Homage to the Square, which constituted a comprehensive plan for color experiments. However, his squares are quite free, passive, undefined, and floating; it is precisely this passivity that deeply influenced the later abstract painting of younger generations.