Marlene Dumas

Chlorosis (Love sick)

1994

Ink, gouache, and acrylic on twenty-four sheets of paper

Not on view

South African artist Marlene Dumas based the twenty–four portraits comprising Chlorosis on Polaroid snapshots of people she knows and on newspaper clippings of strangers. Thin, exquisite washes of color suggest apparitions or psychic projections of internal states. The title of the work comes from the Greek word for light green, and describes an anemic disease marked by a characteristic green skin tone. Sometimes referred to as the virgin's disease, chlorosis was considered a sickness caused by the intense suffering provoked by unrequited love.

Gallery label from

2006.

Medium Ink, gouache, and acrylic on twenty-four sheets of paper
Dimensions Each: 26 x 19 1/2" (66.2 x 49.5 cm)
Credit The Herbert and Nannette Rothschild Memorial Fund in memory of Judith Rothschild
Object number 720.1996.a-x
Department Drawings and Prints

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Marlene Dumas

Marlene Dumas

South African, born 1953 25 works online

In exploring portraiture for over 40 years, Marlene Dumas has engaged with a wide variety of subjects: portraits of the dead, portraits of the living, standing nudes , groups, coupled figures, newborns and infants , crying women, and pregnant women.

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