Marisol

Venezuelan and American, born France, 1930-2016

The Generals

Marisol (Venezuelan and American, born France, 1930–2016). The Generals, 1961–62. Wood, mixed media, and sound recording, 87 x 28 1/2 x 76 inches (221 x 72.4 x 193 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1962 (K1962:7). © Estate of Marisol / Albright-Knox Art Gallery / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

© Estate of Marisol / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

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© Estate of Marisol / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of Marisol / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Estate of Marisol / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

The Generals, 1961-1962

Artwork Details

Currently on View

Materials

wood, mixed media, and sound recording

Measurements

overall: 87 x 28 1/2 x 76 inches (220.98 x 72.39 x 193.04 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Credit

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1962

Accession ID

K1962:7

In 1950, Marisol moved to New York to pursue her desire to become a painter, and there she got to know many of the leading artists of the day. During the 1960s, she became increasingly influenced by the frontrunners of the Pop art movement, such as Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, and even appeared in several of Warhol’s movies. Today, Marisol’s assemblage sculptures—constructed with intelligence, pathos, and, at times, humor—place her at the forefront of a small, select group of female artists who were working with a Pop sensibility during the movement’s heyday. Her unique mixed-media sculptures—the result of carving, nailing, gluing, painting, drawing, plastering, and the incorporation of found objects—often unexpectedly reveal themselves to be self-portraits. Many of her early works are autobiographical and explore her sense of self within the context of societal and family structures.

The Generals features nearly life-size sculptural caricatures of George Washington and the Venezuelan military and political leader Simón Bolívar sitting on a toy horse. Some areas, such as the face of the Bolívar figure, are meticulously rendered, while others are intentionally left seemingly unfinished. The hands of both figures are casts of Marisol's own, giving the sculpture an eerily realistic layer. When the work was first exhibited at the Albright-Knox soon after its acquisition in 1962, a recording of a march entitled “Koronal Kreplach” by the American composer David Amram, a friend of the artist, emanated from the body of the horse. Amram had originally written the score for a Broadway play called The Rivalry, but when Marisol heard it and walked around the sculpture, she found the combination amusing and decided to incorporate it into her work.

Label from Sweet Dreams, Baby! Life of Pop, London to Warhol, May 31–September 8, 2013

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Jasper Johns's Numbers in Color, 1958–59

Mixed Media and Pop Art

November 19, 1963–December 15, 1963

Installation view of Contemporary Art: Acquisitions 1962–1965

Contemporary Art: Acquisitions 1962–1965

September 30, 1966–October 30, 1966

Installation view of The Long Curve: 150 Years of Visionary Collecting at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

The Long Curve: 150 Years of Visionary Collecting at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

November 4, 2011–March 4, 2012

Installation view of Sweet Dreams, Baby! Life of Pop, London to Warhol, with works by Tom Wesselmann, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol

Sweet Dreams, Baby! Life of Pop, London to Warhol

May 31, 2013–September 8, 2013

Installation view of Defining Sculpture with John Chamberlain’s Crowded Hearts, 1987, and Polly Apfelbaum’s Reckless, 1998

Defining Sculpture

June 18, 2016–October 9, 2016

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Cover of Contemporary Art 1942-72: Collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Contemporary Art 1942-72: Collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Cover of Contemporary Art - Acquisitions 1962-1965

Contemporary Art — Acquisitions 1962-1965

Cover of Mixed Media and Pop Art

Mixed Media and Pop Art

Cover of The Long Curve: 150 Years of Visionary Collecting at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

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