All About Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110 by Robert Motherwell

Title of Artwork: “Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110”

Artwork by Robert Motherwell

Year Created 1971

Summary of Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110

Over the course of his career, Motherwell painted more than 140 paintings for his Elegy to the Spanish Republic series.

The artist used the series as a tribute to the Spanish Civil War, which had come to represent the horrors of oppression and injustice in human life for him.

All About Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 110

Like many other examples, No. 110 features a monochromatic colour scheme and a playful combination of ovoid and bar-like rectilinear shapes. However, there has been much discussion about the actual meaning of those symbols.

Some see similarities to architecture or old monuments; others see phalluses or wombs, which, together with the artworks’ gloomy colour palette, may symbolise the recurrence of life and death.

Information Citations

En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.