Man Ray United States, 1890-1976
Pain peint ou (Blue bread - Favorite food for the blue birds) (Objet de mon affection) (M), 1958/1966
Blue polyester bread on a transparent plastic board
75 cm
29 8/16 in
29 8/16 in
When Man Ray first made Pain peint in 1958 he used stale loaves of bread and simply covered them with blue paint. But according to Man Ray, 'mice ate through...
When Man Ray first made Pain peint in 1958 he used stale loaves of bread and simply covered them with blue paint. But according to Man Ray, 'mice ate through the paint and the stale baguette'. When the work was purchased by Arturo Schwarz in 1964, the loaves were replaced in plaster.
Because of the play on homophones in the French title, Man Ray did not want it literally translated for English catalogues or books. He therefore gave it the alternative English title Blue bread and a subtitle, 'Favourite food for blue birds'. According to Arturo Schwarz, Man Ray mentioned that Pain peint is also 'an onomatopoeic representation of the firemen's motor-horns'.
Because of the play on homophones in the French title, Man Ray did not want it literally translated for English catalogues or books. He therefore gave it the alternative English title Blue bread and a subtitle, 'Favourite food for blue birds'. According to Arturo Schwarz, Man Ray mentioned that Pain peint is also 'an onomatopoeic representation of the firemen's motor-horns'.
Provenance
Marion Meyer Collection, Paris, France
Artist’ studio
Exhibitions
Salute to Man Ray, American Center, Paris (1967)Les objets de mon affection, Galerie de l’Europe (1968)
Man Ray, Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (1971) (exhibition catalog)
Travelling to: Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris
Louisiana Museum, Humblebaek, Danemark (1971- 1972)
Perpetual Motif: The Art of Man Ray, Smithsonian
American Art Museum, Washington D.C. (1988)
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Menil Collection, Houston Philadelphia Museum of Art (1988-1990)
Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia, Tate Modern, London (2008)
Travelling to: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (2008)
Man Ray, Kunstforum Wien, Autriche (2018)
From Man Ray To Mariën : An Idea of Surrealism, MARUANI MERCIER, Brussels (2021)
Literature
Surreal objects, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, edition Hatje Kantz, 2011, page 196
Man Ray, Janus, Edition Fratelli Fabbri, 1973, ill.126
Man Ray 1972, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, cat 191, pg 90
Objets de mon affection, Edition Marcel Zerbib, Paris 1968