GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Like the windmill, the rattlesnake is a recurrent motif in Hogue’s oeuvre from the 1930s, likely because both are visually interesting subjects and common throughout Texas. Hogue seemed particularly drawn to the play between the snake’s diamond-patterned scales and the twisting form of its body.
In the study after Drouth Survivors (1936, Centre Pompidou) he copied the snake from the painting but made its form more angular, while keeping the area around it fairly empty. A year later, in this print, Hogue accentuated the snake's curving body by repeating the serpentine shapes in the horseshoes he added on the right.
Adapted from
Sue Canterbury, Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series, Label text, 2014.
NOTES
Related Object
1956.138 Alexandre Hogue, Rattler
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place depicted and place of origin: Texas (state/United States): TGN: 7007826
Place of origin: Southwest (general region/United States): TGN: 4010660
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1989-2007: Nona and Richard Barrett, The Barrett Collection, Dallas, Texas
From 2007: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the above
AUDIO ASSETS
- 15662418: UMO [Caption: A Conversation on Alexandre Hogue]
- 16086093: UMO [Caption: Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series, Sue Canterbury]
- 27172833: UMO [Caption: Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series, Gallery Talk Andrea Severins-Goins]
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Drougth Survivors (1937)~See the painting on which this work was based by going to the Centre Pompidou's online collection.
- Rattlesnakes at the San Diego Zoo~Learn more about rattlesnakes.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- For centuries, people have considered horseshoes to be symbols of luck. If their ends point up, they bring good fortune, but if the ends point down, the horseshoe signals that luck is running out. Hogue is perhaps playing with this symbolism in Rattler.
- Hogue recalled, “When I did The Rattler all my artist friends said I was crazy—that nobody would buy such a print . . . I find that people may not like a snake personally but they are always interested and fascinated by them, particularly when they are on paper.”
- Rattler was incredibly successful, selling out faster than any other print by Hogue.
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 2007.15.30
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General Description
Like the windmill, the rattlesnake is a recurrent motif in Hogue’s oeuvre from the 1930s, likely because both are visually interesting subjects and common throughout Texas. Hogue seemed particularly drawn to the play between the snake’s diamond-patterned scales and the twisting form of its body.
In the study after Drouth Survivors (1936, Centre Pompidou) he copied the snake from the painting but made its form more angular, while keeping the area around it fairly empty. A year later, in this print, Hogue accentuated the snake's curving body by repeating the serpentine shapes in the horseshoes he added on the right.
Adapted from
Sue Canterbury, Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series, Label text, 2014.
Fun Facts
- For centuries, people have considered horseshoes to be symbols of luck. If their ends point up, they bring good fortune, but if the ends point down, the horseshoe signals that luck is running out. Hogue is perhaps playing with this symbolism in Rattler.
- Hogue recalled, “When I did The Rattler all my artist friends said I was crazy—that nobody would buy such a print . . . I find that people may not like a snake personally but they are always interested and fascinated by them, particularly when they are on paper.”
- Rattler was incredibly successful, selling out faster than any other print by Hogue.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Drougth Survivors (1937)~See the painting on which this work was based by going to the Centre Pompidou's online collection.
- Rattlesnakes at the San Diego Zoo~Learn more about rattlesnakes.
Notes
Related Object
1956.138 Alexandre Hogue, Rattler
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place depicted and place of origin: Texas (state/United States): TGN: 7007826
Place of origin: Southwest (general region/United States): TGN: 4010660
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1989-2007: Nona and Richard Barrett, The Barrett Collection, Dallas, Texas
From 2007: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the above
AUDIO ASSETS
- 15662418: UMO [Caption: A Conversation on Alexandre Hogue]
- 16086093: UMO [Caption: Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series, Sue Canterbury]
- 27172833: UMO [Caption: Alexandre Hogue: The Erosion Series, Gallery Talk Andrea Severins-Goins]
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