In this work Constant brings together the fictional characters Justine and King Ubu, created respectively by Marquis de Sade (1791) and Alfred Jarry (1888). With this painting he references the silent majority as popularized by the U.S. president Richard Nixon in his speech of November 3, 1969. In the painting Justine embodies the silent majority meeting the idiot characterized by Ubu.
On his way to Munich for the exhibition ‘Constant Kreidezeichnungen 1945-52’ in Gallery van de Loo, Constant makes a stop in Stuttgart. At the Stuttgart State Gallery, he sees the Herrenberg Altarpiece by the German Renaissance painter Jerg Ratgeb. The altarpiece consists of eight panels that show 24 scenes from the Passion story, from the life of Mary and from the Acts of the Apostles.
Circa 1975.
Johnny was Constant's assistant in the '60's when working on New Babylon. He died in the seventies.
Circa 1975.
This small drawing accompanied the text Het ZIEN van beeldende kunst: enkele opmerkingen omtrent zin en onzin van de iconografie published by Centraal Museum Utrecht in 1975. Re-edited and translated in English republished in cat. of the exhibition Constant: Schilderijen 1948-1995, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,1995. The original text and drawing were donated to Centraal Museum Utrecht.
