Genesis #2

Lorser Feitelson, Genesis #2, 1934, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1985.33
Copied Lorser Feitelson, Genesis #2, 1934, oil on fiberboard, 40 1⁄4 x 48 in. (102.1 x 121.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1985.33

Artwork Details

Title
Genesis #2
Artist
Date
1934
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
40 1⁄4 x 48 in. (102.1 x 121.8 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on fiberboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — furniture — lamp
  • Object — other — shell
  • Object — fruit — cantaloupe
  • Object — foodstuff — egg
  • Dress — costume — mask
  • Allegory — life — womanhood
  • Religion — New Testament — Mary
Object Number
1985.33
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.33

Artwork Description

Lorser Feitelson created images that he hoped would inspire a "deep emotional response" through the careful arrangement of objects. In Genesis #2 he combined symbols to suggest the cycle of life. The melon and conch shell are images of female sexuality, and the egg shell, baby's face, and skull show the progression from conception to death. Feitelson painted a telescope going through the eyes of the different faces and out the top of the skull, pointing toward the universe. He surrounded this symbol of science and discovery with objects that evoke an alternative reality in which the physical evidence cannot explain the mysteries of life and death.