| Black Iris | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Georgia O’Keeffe |
| Year | 1926 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Location | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| Dimensions | 36 x 29 7/8 in. |
| 91.4 x 75.9 cm | |
| Georgia O’Keeffe Famous Paintings | |
| Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue, 1931 | |
| Blue and Green Music, 1919-1921 | |
| Pineapple Bud, 1939 | |
| Black Iris, 1926 | |
| Red Canna, 1924 | |
| Blue Morning Glories, 1938 | |
| Complete Works |
Black Iris is one of the most popular paintings by Modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe. Black Iris is an oil on canvas that was painted in 1926. Just as the painting’s name implies, this is a depiction of a simple, black iris. However, O’Keeffe uses her exceptional artistic skills to enlarge the black iris to allow the viewer appreciate its features in greater detail.
She loved to paint flowers, and most of her paintings emphasize the fact that even though a tiny flower is often overlooked, there are so many more intricate details that should be noted.
Artistic Techniques
Besides giving importance to size and detail, Georgia O’Keeffe also placed a lot of importance on the use of color in the Black Iris painting. The colors are very dark, including black, purple, and maroon. However, they are subtly graded into softer shades, such as pink, gray and white, to make the beauty of this painting and O’Keeffe’s expertise feature impeccably.