Notes Toward a Definition of Nobody - A Reverie

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Notes Toward a Definition of Nobody - A Reverie

Artist Ronald B. Kitaj (American, 1932 - 2007)

Date1961

DimensionsH: 48 in. (122 cm); W: 88 in. (223.5 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Gosman

Object number

1973.42

Not on View

Label TextMany of R. B. Kitaj’s mostly figurative works bring together a range of references, from art history and literature to his Jewish heritage, and include complex explorations of ideas and politics. The “Nobody” of the painting’s title refers to a 16th-century German legend about a scapegoat for any disharmony in the home; centuries later it came to represent rebellion in the face of institutional corruption. To Kitaj, Nobody was the symbolic personification of grievance in the human condition. Sitting on a ledge with their arms and legs crossed, Kitaj’s Nobody is faceless and nameless, but envisioned as an African American figure. Significantly, the work was painted during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Kitaj provides a sense of narrative through varying vignettes. Perhaps these additional figures have some relation to Nobody, though their significance is unclear. This work appears to be more open-ended than meant to provide a comprehensible narrative. As he stated, "There is no, or very little, question of ultimate meanings, as, I think, issues of meaning are far less clear than is often supposed, even in simple, abstract art." To participate in critical dialogues, Kitaj and this work might suggest that we embrace complexity and nuance to find constructive ways to move forward together.Published ReferencesBaro, G., "The British Scene: Hockney and Kitaj," Arts Magazine, XXXVIII, May-June 1964, repr. p. 58 (in first state).

Merkel, Jayne, "Sensibility of Art," Cincinnati Enquirer, April 15, 1973, repr.

"Toledo Museum Acquires Kitaj Painting," Impresario, vol. 12, no. 5, Sept.-Oct., 1973, pl. 19, repr.

"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 83, no. 1261, Feb. 1974, p. 251.

Phillips, R., "Ronald B. Kitaj's Definition of Nobody," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, XVII, No. 1, 1974, pp. 19-22, repr. fig. 10.

"Treasures for Toledo," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 19, nos. 2 & 3, 1976, p. 80, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, pp. 68, 71, pl. 258.

Livingstone, Marco, "Iconology as Theme in the Early Work of R. B. Kitaj," Burlington, vol. 122, no. 928, July, 1980, p. 491.

Phillpot, Clive, "Kitaj Retrospective" (review), Art Journal, vol. 42, no. 1, Spring 1982, p. 56.

Livingstone, Marco, R.B. Kitaj, New York, 1985, fig. 41.

Livingstone, Marco, Kitaj, 3rd ed., London, 1999, p. 13, pl. 41 (det., col.).

Exhibition HistoryValdagno, Italy, Premio Marzotto, European Community Contemporary Painting Exhibition, 1962, no. 51.

New York, Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, R.B. Kitaj, 1964, no. 8.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, R.B. Kitaj, Paintings and Prints, 1965, no. 2, repr. (cat. by M. Tuchman).

Cleveland Museum of Art, Works by Ronald Kitaj, 1967.

Pittsburgh, University Art Gallery, The Gosman Collection, 1969, no. 24, repr.

Madison, University of Wisconsin, Elvehjam Art Center, 19th and 20th Century Art from Collections of Alumni and Friends, 1970, no. 164, p. 129, repr.

Akron Art Institute, Celebrate Ohio, Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, 1971, repr.

Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Contemporary Art: The Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Gosman, 1972, no. 19, repr.

Cincinnati Art Museum, Dine-Kitaj, 1973, no. 18, repr. (cat. by R. Boyle).

Washington, Hirshhorn; Cleveland Museum of Art; Dusseldorf, Stadtische Kunsthalle, R.B. Kitaj, 1981, no. 6, repr.