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Basquiat Untitled Art Caption

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled (Devil), 1982

Acrylic and spray paint on Canvas

239 x 500 cm

Collection of Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann

Basquiat’s Untitled acrylic artwork referred to as Devil, was a part of the collection of Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann presented in New York. In this work he uses sporadic brushwork and a wide array of colors to overlap a devil-like figure. The splatters and smears of paint surrounding the horned creature masks its presence, exemplifying the “devil” present inside of us all, despite our attempts on trying to conceal it. This painting continues a common theme in Basquiat’s work with the use of skeletal figures and religious innuendos showing his enthrallment with mortality and self-identity. His infatuation with human existence and understanding one’s self can be seen in other works of his. Any viewer of Basquiat’s work can see that he was constantly examining or searching for something within himself or others by the use of religious figures and his artistic style. Particularly, this piece examines our most undesirable characteristics and how we let those qualities define us.

Langden Ramseur

An extended look at Basquiat’s Untitled (Devil)