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Secrets and other curiosities

Detalle de la obra de Robert Rauschenberg “Express”

"Express". Technical processes

Comparative detail of the silkscreen technique used in Robert Rauschenberg’s work “Express”
Detalle comparativo de la técnica serigráfica en la obra “Express” de Robert Rauschenberg

Rauschenberg plays with the technique. The artist takes a typically commercial process, screen printing, and turns it into a pictorial device, incorporating it into his artistic language in a completely natural way.

The process is intriguing and varies depending on the area: in some places he applies patches of paint first and then superimposes the silkscreen images, while in others he does the opposite, transferring several silkscreen images directly onto the canvas and adding splashes and drips of paint on top. The result is a vibrant blend of the technical and the spontaneous.

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Detail of the frame of Robert Rauschenberg’s work “Express”
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Beyond the canvas

Rauschenberg’s work Express conceals a particularly curious detail that goes unnoticed unless you stop and look closely. Instead of confining himself to the traditional space of the canvas, the artist goes one step further and incorporates the frame into the composition.
Detail in macrophotography of the painting “Christ with the Cross” c.1587‐1596, by El Greco
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El Greco the expressionist

En Cristo abrazando la cruz, El Greco, construye la figura de manera magistral. El tratamiento pictórico de las carnaciones forma un juego de colores y matices realizados con veladuras sueltas, en las que el dibujo se pierde paulatinamente.
Comparative view of the visible image and the X-Ray image of El Greco’s painting "Christ with the Cross”, c. 1587–1596
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A transformed canvas

The X-ray of this painting offers us a secret glimpse into the work’s past, revealing a story hidden beneath its surface. In the central part of the canvas the trace of serious damage is visible: a tear likely caused by a heavy impact. What is most surprising is its shape, an almost perfect cross. 
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