Untitled

Untitled is an early example of a painting by Robert Ryman made up of multiple parts. This large square is composed of two separate, different sized canvases. The left panel is a white composition, with thick brushstrokes densely applied upon a green, yellow and blue underpainting. Ryman's colour choice was probably not too carefully considered, because he knew that he would eventually coat the panel with white paint. Rather, with the underpainting, he was interested in creating a difference in light intensity as well as building up the surface. A narrow segment is exposed canvas and visually links the left and right canvases. The right panel is evenly painted with a smooth surface. It is important to note the contrast between the soft, evenly right panel and the densely, built up canvas on the left. The two canvases exemplarize the range of paint application and thus demonstrates Ryman's fundamental interest in this aspect of painting.