White Cod
Hartley, Marsden
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Date
1942Description
This austere painting of two dead fish could be taken as a simple rendering of a traditional motif. Given Hartley's poetic bent, deep spirituality, and inclination to endow his works with personal meaning, however, it may have originated in his despair over the drowning deaths of the Mason brothers, two fishermen with whose family Hartley had boarded in Maine. It may also invoke Christian symbolism in which the fish is a metaphor for Jesus. full view
Type of Work
Oil paintingSubject
Death, Drowning, Fishes, Grief, White, Christianity, Painting, American --20th century, Dead animals in art, Art, Modern --20th century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only
Item is Part of
130911