Rhabdomancie (1947)

Dated 1947, "Rhabdomancie" is an artwork by Yves Tanguy. Context for 1947: The range of materials widened to include acrylic paint, screen printing, and mixed media. Photography, film, and print culture became part of the language of art, and artists across the world developed their own responses to modernism. The catalogue places it in Abstract. The format is portrait. Abstract in brief: Abstract art moves away from depicting recognisable objects and relies on colour, line, shape, and surface instead. It emerged in the early twentieth century, when several artists in Europe and Russia developed non-representational painting during the 1910s.

Buying "Rhabdomancie" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A portrait format suits narrow wall spaces, hallways, and the area beside a door or window. Abstract compositions work through rhythm, colour, and form, which makes them especially effective in modern interiors and in spaces that need a strong visual accent without a literal narrative. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Choosing a standard frame size and printing to fit it often saves the cost of custom framing. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour.

French, 1900–1955

If you like the visual language of Yves Tanguy, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.