Quattro Stagioni. Part I: Primavera

Tate Gallery, London, the UK.

Acrylic, oil paint, wax, crayon, canvas.

This is the second picture from the cycle “Seasons”, which Twombly created following the example of the classical tradition. Working on the painting, the artist arranged it vertically and applied the paint by spraying, letting the liquid material flow down freely. The image on a white canvas attracts with its spontaneity and freshness of colours resembling an unblown flower and causing associations with the light spring wind. The red curved structures located over the entire surface are Egyptian rowing boats that symbolize the journey through the underworld in the Book of the Dead.