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collage collage composition board
Not currently on view
Gift of Bank of America
Tidings is part of Romare Bearden’s Prevalence of Ritual series, begun in the 1960s. This collage provides another variation on the recurring theme of the Annunciation. Returning to compositions similar to this one time and again, Bearden found creative new ways to render the subject. Here, the figure who is traditionally understood as Gabriel retains his wings, yet dons an earring and a modern jacket. The sky is gray, yet the rainbow emerges from behind the clouds, suggesting a better future is yet to come. The train, too, may be seen as a powerfully-charged symbol of this journey. Bearden has built the landscape elements from pieces of grey, green, and brown paper, some with images of trees already printed upon them, others combined to create abstracted trees. The figures, too, are formed of multiple parts pieced together from different sources. While Mary’s head is made up of papers printed with facial features, Gabriel’s is a simple shape cut from mottled black paper, enhanced with a few additional details including an eye, an ear, and an earring.
Accession Number: 2002.68.1
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