Joseph Beuys

Geysir

1953

Not on display

Artist: Joseph Beuys 1921–1986
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Dimensions: Support (left): 226 × 218 mm
support (right): 224 × 219 mm
frame: 680 × 525 × 33 mm
Collection: ARTIST ROOMS Tate and National Galleries of Scotland
Acquisition: ARTIST ROOMS Acquired jointly with the National Galleries of Scotland through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008
Reference: AR00631

Online caption

This work is in two parts, with the part on the right being an impression of the part on the left. It was likely made by placing two pieces of paper on top of each other so that the lower piece absorbed some of the watercolour which was painted on the top piece of paper, making a partial copy. With his interest in the natural sciences, Beuys would undoubtedly have been aware of the geyser (an erupting hot spring) as a geological phenomenon. This work may refer to the 'Great Geysir' in Iceland, from which the word 'geyser' originates.