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Shakespearean Equation: Hamlet

1948–49
(American, 1890–1976)
America
oil on canvas
Framed: 55.9 x 66 x 3.9 cm (22 x 26 x 1 9/16 in.); Unframed: 40.5 x 51 cm (15 15/16 x 20 1/16 in.)
Bequest of Lockwood Thompson 1992.301
© 2013 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Location: 225 German Expressionism & Surrealism
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

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Man Ray's tombstone is inscribed, "Unconcerned but not indifferent."

Description

In 1934, Man Ray photographed a collection of three-dimensional mathematical objects at the Institute Henry Poincaré in Paris. These photographs became the basis for Ray's Shakespearean Equation painting series. Ray's paintings of the mathematical objects emphasize their form through dramatic contrasts of light and dark, while also imbuing the objects with human-like qualities. Here, Ray's painting from a tetrahedron model photograph is entitled Hamlet. The shape of the tetrahedron is suggestive of female anatomy, perhaps referencing Hamlet's fraught relationships with women.
Shakespearean Equation: Hamlet

Shakespearean Equation: Hamlet

1948–49

Man Ray

(American, 1890–1976)
America

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