“Composition II” is a significant work by the artist Patrick Henry Bruce, created in the year 1916. This piece is an exemplar of the Cubist art movement and is rendered in oil on canvas. It is an abstract artwork that measures 38 1/4 by 51 inches (97.2 by 129.5 cm) and is currently housed at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven. The artwork reflects the characteristics of Cubism through its fragmented and geometric representation of form, devoid of any clear subject matter.
The artwork presents a complex arrangement of shapes and colours, interlocking and overlapping with one another to create a sense of space that is ambiguous and difficult to decipher. This visual composition is balanced yet dynamic, with a rich palette that features bold reds, deep blacks, crisp whites, and various shades of blues and greens, with additional touches of other hues. The planes appear to be carefully positioned to interact in a rhythmically harmonious manner, suggesting depth and dimensionality while simultaneously flattening the pictorial space. It is a silent orchestration of form and colour that defies the traditional expectations of representational art, inviting viewers to contemplate the pure visual relationships and the artist’s exploration of the boundaries of painting.
