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Fallen Angel Basquiat

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Today we are viewing a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat Untitled (Fallen Angel) created in 1981 using acrylic and oil-stick on canvas. I will articulate a few of the elements and principles Basquiat uses in this painting that make this an amazing piece of art that sold for $11.2 million in 2008.
In the top left side of the painting Basquiat used a black vertical brushstroke to create an implied line. This line is located inside a slightly open orange geometric shape of an implied rectangle. In the bottom left tip of the angel wing, the artist uses different hues of yellow, a sunshine yellow layered on top of a shaded Dijon yellow to show different value. The foreground and middle-ground show occupied space by the fallen angel, whereas the blue background shows open space. The artists use of color is bold and distinctive with the contrast of warm hues used in the angel such as yellow, red, and orange, against the cool blue background. Basquiat shows implied texture at the top of the angel using a black semi-circular halo that has sharp, jagged vertical black lines that represent spikes like on …show more content…

Whereas, in the foreground and middle ground the artist creates variety using several different analogous color inside the angel and other figures. One focal point is the largest figure in the center of the painting, the angel, its location and large size show that it’s a focal point. In the lower tip of the angels right wing are swerving, dancing lines, that our eye naturally follow taking us on a gracefully curving visual ride that draws the eye to the next part of the painting showing rhythm. On the top right corner under the grey area, is a set of black incomplete half squares that resemble shelves on a wall, this is an example of pattern. Basquiat creates contrast by using complementary colors orange and blue, the orange above the right wing in the lines of the crown and the blue in the

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