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Homage to the Square is the title of a series of paintings produced by Josef Albers between 1950 and his death in 1976. In 1971, the paintings were the subject of the first solo show devoted to a living artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are over 1000 works within the series. Albers used this series as a color study, to show the differences in how color behaves when painted in a pure form.

Description
All of the paintings in the series show either three or four nested squares of color. The position of the interior squares is determined by a regular schema, with the margin below the square being smaller than the space above it. The works range in size from 406 x 406 mm to 1.22 x 1.22 meters.

Process of creation
Albers created the works under carefully controlled conditions to ensure uniformity across the series. He always painted the works on the rough side of Masonite panels. The panels were always covered with at least six coats of a white primer. Albers also controlled the lighting in the studio using fluorescent lights, which he arranged above his work table according to different patterns of light temperature. The methodical nature of the series is also apparent in that every piece in the Homage to the Square series has the materials used within the piece listed on the back. This allowed for a greater understanding of the specificities of the painting.

In addition to specificities about lighting and primer, the Albers maintained a process for the painting of the Squares. Albers used unmixed paint, directly from the tube. He applied it with his palette knife, generally beginning work on the central square and moving out toward the edge of the panel. The palette knife provided texture to the painting, which would not have existed with the use of a paintbrush. This process, working from the inside out, is due to his father, a house painter, who recommended this process so paint would not drip.

Albers used paint directly from the tube in order to show the differences in pure color. This allowed Albers to show how the same colors from different brands could preform differently. Albers would then paint over the squares using varnish, which would again provide insight into how veneer changes the color of the squares. To maintain the purity of the color of the squares, Albers would often paint over the varnish. This led to various issues with later conservation attempts.

Repetition
The repetitive nature of Homage to the Square focuses on the endlessness of color. Albers continued to repeat the forms of the inlaid squares because "there is no end to color," showing the focus of color. The repetitive form allowed Albers to change one element of the piece in order to see how it impacted the greater piece. This was done in order to see the psychic effects of color and form.

The repetitive use of squares, lines, and shapes to focus on the form of the painting, in order to highlight the role of form and its direct influence on color. For Albers, form requires a repeated performance, which also trains the eye for both color and form.

Color
Albers used his paintings in order to explore the relationship of colors. He placed the colors of the squares right next to each other in order to show how juxtaposition and contrast affected the appearance of color. In fact, various iterations of Homage to the Square used the same colors in different orders, in order to show the greater effects of juxtaposition. He claimed that the use of the colors was aimed at interaction, and how colors influence each other. His goal was to see how the colors reacted together, claiming that his goal was to "let the colors react in the prison in which I put them." This juxtaposition was used to create different viewing experiences, such as one shade making another seem either lighter or darker. One example of the effect of the juxtaposition of the squares was the dimension it forced upon the paintings. Certain combinations of colors would create the effect of making squares seem like they are coming outward instead of inward.

Often Albers would use color in relation to moral character, which he explored through his Homage to the Square series. Albers believed that colors took on moral character because they existed "in relation to others," making color both individual and a member of society. This exemplified his belief that ethics and aesthetics were one in the same. This idea of color is directly influenced by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his theories of vision and color. Influenced by Goethe's understanding of vision as being influenced by color and proximity, Albers distinguished between "ocular seeing" and "vision."

Form
Albers focused his pieces on the form of squares, claiming that he would make squares as long as he was able. The quasi-concentric order of the squares is the same in each version of the Homage, allowing the squares to be group of singular themselves. This allows for both distance and separation in unique ways. The squares acted as a vessel of color, as square was an unnatural shape. Albers used squares specifically for their unnaturalness. He wanted to use squares as they were often lacking in the natural world, making the paintings seem man-made to the human eye.

The use of squares was deliberate on the part of Albers, who claimed that squares "sit," which allows the color within the works to be highlighted. These squares were also given a white border, in order to provide both a beginning and an end to the works of art.

Conservation Efforts and Reproductions
Albers' unique process in creating Homage to the Square has led to various issues in the conservation efforts of the series. By painting over the varnish in order to maintain purity, severe alligator cracking has occurred. This means that conservators have encountered many issues trying to use in-painting in order to preserve the image. Additionally, by using pure paint straight from the tube, the colors of the Squares are very unique. This makes it hard for conservators to color match the current color of the paint, which has changed over time. This has led conservators to mix dry pigments in order to replicate the high intensity colors.

Additionally, reproductions often lack important context to the paintings that add to each study of squares. In particular, the use of the palette knife added distinct texture and marks on the pieces, which are often lost in reproductions.

Examples
Examples of paintings from the series include:


 * Homage to the Square: Ascending (1953), Whitney Museum
 * Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken (1969), Metropolitan Museum of Art