Cheops' Testament

1964

American, 1903 - 1981

Alfred Jensen was a true polymath -- a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge. Immersing himself in the study of color theory, ancient systems of divination, mathematics and geometry, Jensen's paintings stand apart. His works resemble explanatory diagrams, yet his charts do not explain or illustrate any one system of knowledge. In this painting -- titled for the Egyptian pharaoh who commissioned the pyramid of Giza -- Jensen combines his interest in Egyptian cosmologies with a complex system of geometric and color notation, although the precise meaning remains shrouded in mystery. Cheops' Testament may be better understood as a tribute to the artist's own fascination with the human desire to impose order and logic on physical and metaphysical phenomena.

-- Catharina Manchanda, Jon & Mary Shirley Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, 2016

Oil on canvas

84 x 297 in. (213.4 x 754.4 cm)

Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2014.25.34

Provenance: Edward R. Downe, Jr. (1929-); gifted to Hugh (Cubby) Downe (1955-); purchased through Patterson Sims (1947-) by Virginia and Bagley Wright, Seattle, Feb. 2007

Photo: Scott Leen

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Alfred Jensen: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1985. Text by Maria Reidelbach and Peter Schjeldahl. No cat. no., reproduced pp. 48-49.

Seattle, Washington, Wright Exhibition Space, Large Scale Abstract Paintings, 1960-1979, unknown start date - Sept. 7, 2007

Seattle, Washington, Wright Exhibition Space, Big is Better (or Some Claim), unknown start date - Mar. 6, 2010

Published ReferencesGraves, Jen. "The Great Wright Collection Comes to Seattle Art Museum (and the Marvelous Wright Exhibition Space Closes October 14)," on The Stranger Slog, online (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/10/06/the-great-wright-collection-comes-to-seattle-art-museum-and-the-marvelous-wright-exhibition-space-closes-october-14)

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