%C2%A9 Mose Tolliver %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York
Cross of a White Jesus with a French Bird, a Mountain Bird, and Pinto Bird, 1987
Mose Tolliverexpand_more
Paint and Masonite on wood panelingexpand_more
The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collectionexpand_more 2019.16.33
Not on Viewexpand_more
Rather than paint Jesus hanging on the cross, Southern artist Mose Tolliver perches birds upon it. In many of Tolliver’s works, perhaps drawing on imagery from African-American folk tales, birds represent freedom and transcendence. Tolliver first started working with wood after seeing a neighbor make sculptures out of tree roots. He soon began making paintings—usually with limited color palettes like the red, blue, and white of this work. In Christianity, the cross represents the
weight of human sin. This red cross, however, seems to float on the blue background, buoyed visually by the contrasting colors and physically by the head of the white figure.
Details
- Title
- Cross of a White Jesus with a French Bird, a Mountain Bird, and Pinto Bird
- Artist Life
- c. 1918-20 - 2006
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2019.16.33
- Curator Approved
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© Mose Tolliver / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York