A woman laying on a sheet with her head turned to her right.

Deanna XXIX

Artist Dennis James Martin (American, 1956 - 2001)

Date1996

Mediumgoldpoint on paper [24K gold on paper]

DimensionsImage: 38 1/2 × 57 1/4 inches (97.8 × 145.4 cm)
Sight: 42 × 60 inches (106.7 × 152.4 cm)
Framed: 51 × 71 1/4 × 1 3/4 inches (129.5 × 181 × 4.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Denise Martin in loving memory of Dennis James Martin and Sandra Lee Essert.

Object number2010.19

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Estate of Dennis James Martin. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws. Label TextDennis Martin’s practice is typically associated with Photorealism, a late 1960s and early 1970s art movement known for its acute attention to detail and hyper-realistic imagery. However, Martin’s use of metalpoint—a technique popularized by old masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Albrecht Dürer—set him apart from other Photorealists. Working carefully over several months to create a single piece, he applied pure gold, platinum, or silver marks to paper that could not be erased. This indelibility greatly mattered to the artist, who was concerned with creating artworks for posterity that would “evoke some kind of empathy or relevance with the viewer.” Beyond Martin’s technical skill, particularly evident in a work of this size, the close framing and delicate rendering of the sleeping woman is particularly striking. Text written for the exhibition Complex Uncertainties: Artists in Postwar America, October 24, 2020 – May 3, 2021.

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