Anabasis Xenephon — Fine Art

Anabasis Xenephon by Cy Twombly draws on the long march of Greek soldiers across hostile ground. The picture carries the gestural writing and loose scrawl that marked the post war abstract painting of the artist. Thin lines and repeated signs move across the sheet with the feel of a wandering route.

A fine art print set in a frame with a back panel holds these marks on a matte surface. The paper takes the scrawl without adding shine, so the pencil like lines stay quiet and the background does not pull attention away.

Against a wall in a study, the wandering marks read like a map drawn in haste. From the desk you see the broad sweeps first, while the smaller signs reveal themselves when you stand near the frame.