Cy Twombly (1928-2011) was an American painter, draftsman, and sculptor. A major figure of post-war art, he developed a singular pictorial language blending scribbles, writing, and graffiti, on the borderline of abstract expressionism.
Cy Twombly(1928 — 2011)
Cy Twombly
États-Unis
5 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born in 1928 in Lexington, Virginia, in the United States
- Studied at Black Mountain College, where he mixed with Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Motherwell around 1951-1952
- Settled in Italy in 1957, where he drew on Mediterranean culture and ancient mythology
- Created major cycles such as 'Fifty Days at Iliam' (1978) inspired by the Iliad
- Died in 2011 in Rome, recognized as a master of 20th-century art
Works & Achievements
An explosive canvas blending strokes, smears and fragments of writing around the myth of Leda and the swan. A peak of his gestural language.
A cycle of nine canvases inspired by the Roman emperor Commodus, at first misunderstood in New York and later recognized as a major work.
A series of slate-grey backgrounds covered with repetitive loops evoking cursive handwriting or schoolroom exercises.
A cycle of ten paintings inspired by Homer's *Iliad*, held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. An epic work on the Trojan War.
A suite of twelve canvases evoking the naval Battle of Lepanto (1571), shown at the Venice Biennale. A triumph of color and movement.
A blue ceiling painted for the Louvre's bronzes gallery, adorned with spheres and the names of Greek sculptors. The first commission of this kind given to a contemporary artist since Braque.
Large blood-red loops evoking wine and Dionysian intoxication. The broad, liberated gesture of his maturity.
Anecdotes
Born Edwin Parker Twombly in Virginia, he inherited the nickname “Cy” from his father, a professional baseball player who was himself nicknamed after the legendary Cy Young. The artist would keep this athletic nickname his whole life as his artist's name.
In 1952, thanks to a scholarship, the young Twombly set off with his friend the painter Robert Rauschenberg on a long journey through Italy and North Africa. Mediterranean motifs, scripts, and landscapes would leave a lasting mark on his art.
In 1957, Twombly settled permanently in Italy, in Rome, fascinated by Greco-Roman antiquity. Mythology and the poetry of Virgil, Ovid, and Sappho became constant sources of inspiration for his paintings.
Many of his canvases resemble a child's scribbles or graffiti: Twombly often worked in semi-darkness, sometimes with his left hand (he was right-handed), in order to lose control and free up a more spontaneous gesture.
In 2007, a visitor to an exhibition in Avignon kissed one of his white canvases, leaving a lipstick mark on it. The incident, widely covered by the media, illustrates the passionate and sometimes baffling relationship the public has with his work.
Primary Sources
“Each line is the actual experience of its own history. It does not illustrate — it is the sensation of its own realization.”
In it Twombly champions an art in which writing, sign, and mark take precedence over figurative representation.
Barthes analyzes the work as an art of “little but much,” where the rare gesture and the almost-nothing produce maximum intensity.
Key Places
Twombly's birthplace, where he returned regularly to work toward the end of his life. Part of his late work was created there.
Experimental school where Twombly trained in the early 1950s through contact with the American avant-garde. A decisive place in his formation.
His adopted city, where he settled in 1957 and spent the greater part of his life as an artist. Roman Antiquity deeply nourished his work there.
A coastal town in Lazio where Twombly owned a house-studio facing the sea. There he painted some of his most luminous series.
A building of the Menil Collection designed by Renzo Piano, dedicated exclusively to his work since 1995. A landmark place to discover the artist.
Typical Objects
Twombly used wax crayons, graphite leads and chalks to draw his nervous lines directly onto the canvas. This childlike tool produced his instantly recognizable scribbled handwriting.
He sometimes applied color in thick pastes, by hand or with a brush, letting the material drip. Blood red and white dominate many of his canvases.
Many of his works are monumental, such as the “Lepanto” or “Bacchus” cycles. The large format allowed for the sweep of the bodily gesture.
Twombly made sculptures from found objects assembled together and coated in white plaster, evoking ancient relics. He often painted them an immaculate white.
Drawing on paper, collages and sketches held a central place in his work. Handwritten names of poets frequently appear within them.
Twombly photographed flowers, studios and everyday objects, often in blurry, washed-out prints. This quiet practice extended his painterly world.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Daily Life
Morning
Twombly loved the slowness and solitude of the morning, reading a great deal — ancient poetry, mythology, history. He often let an idea ripen for a long time before touching the canvas.
Afternoon
The afternoon might be devoted to work in the studio, but Twombly painted in bursts, sometimes very quickly after long periods of waiting. He also traveled a great deal between Rome, Gaeta, and Virginia.
Evening
In the evening, he kept company with a small circle of artist and intellectual friends, hosting guests at home in a refined setting. He enjoyed conversation, Antiquity, and the beauty of ancient objects.
Food
Living in Italy for much of his life, he relished Mediterranean cuisine, fresh produce, and wine. His table reflected the Roman art of living that he had embraced.
Clothing
Discreet and elegant, Twombly wore classic, understated clothing, far removed from any eccentricity. He cultivated an almost aristocratic reserve, shunning the social whirl of the art market.
Housing
He lived in vast old residences and palaces in Rome and Gaeta, filled with ancient sculptures, period furniture, and flowers. These refined interiors echoed his work's turn toward the past.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Leda and the Swan
1962
Nine Discourses on Commodus
1963
Untitled (New York City) — « tableaux noirs »
1968
Ceiling (plafond du Louvre)
2010
Untitled (Bacchus)
2005
