Optical art

A German artist, designer, writer and theorist of art, a talented teacher who worked in America for a long time. The name of Josef Alberts is inextricably connected with the Bauhaus Higher Art School in Weimar, which was known for its avant-garde orientation. A former student of this institution, Albers worked there as a teacher, created a new art glass studio, and later became the deputy director of the school.In the USA, where the artist emigrated after the Bauhaus was disbanded by the Nazi authorities, he continued his teaching activities and played an important role in spreading the aesthetics of constructivism, cubism and abstract art among American artists. His work served as a kind of bridge between European avant-garde trends and the new modern art of America.Albers was best known for his series of works “Homage to the Square”, which includes geometric abstract paintings and lithographs that are distinguished by exceptionally subtle chromatic harmony. Almost all the paintings in the series consist of several squares that are inside each other and painted in muted harmonious colours. Creating his work, the artist carefully thought out every detail, the most delicate shades of colour and the effect of the use of certain combinations.In 1963, the artist developed the theory of colour pigments, which he outlined in his book “Interaction of Colour”.

Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp was a French and American artist, an art theorist, one of the founders of such art movements as Dadaism and Surrealism.Was born into a wealthy family. His mother, brothers and sister were engaged in painting, and Marcel grew up in a creative atmosphere, which contributed to the early manifestation of his talent. Following the older brothers, he began to paint in the style of impressionism, presenting quite interesting works from the age of 14.Marcel Duchamp, despite a small number of his works, was one of the most influential figures of fine art after the First World War, a genius and a rebel, who pushed the scope of painting beyond what was permitted. The artist was the author of the "ready-made" method, being the first to use the idea of ​​creating art objects from the most common objects, such as a bicycle wheel and even a urinal. The unusual and sometimes shocking creativity of Duchamp has opened wide opportunities for the further development of avant-garde art all over the world.At the end of his career, the artist departed from painting, preferring to use already finished objects for his works, which he called "ready-made", or creating voluminous collages. In addition to his artistic creativity, Marcel Duchamp starred in films, wrote articles and studied chess, in which he was a professional. Thanks to his versatile and unordinary talent, he left a bright mark in the art of the early twentieth century and laid the foundation for the emergence of completely new methods and trends in painting.

Spanish painter, graphic artist, sculptor, director and writer. One of the most famous figures in Surrealism, and author of “The Persistence of Memory”, one of the most famous paintings of the 20th century.Dalí started painting at the age of four. He created his first serious work at the age of ten. It was a small impressionistic landscape, painted on a wooden board with oil paints. Henceforth, Dali spent whole days sitting in a small, specially allocated room and painting pictures. “I wanted to be given the laundry under the roof of our house. I got it and made it my own workshop, decorating it in the way I preferred,” he remembered later. Moreover, he liked to analyze the works of famous artists. He wrote and published essays about the works of Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

The theme of the picture, which is included in a cycle of ten works, was the story of Egyptian pharaoh Sesostris mentioned in the writings of Herodotus. The work is made in the manner typical of Twombly - abstract coloured spots and lines are randomly arranged on a white background.