Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, drying to a matte finish that can be reactivated with water.
Painter
Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Sophie Taeuber-Arp was a Swiss Dada artist whose precise geometric abstractions moved freely between gouache, oil painting, textiles, and painted sculpture.
Sophie Taeuber-Arp quick facts
Taeuber-Arp developed rhythmic geometric forms across paper, canvas, textiles, and painted objects, challenging the divide between fine and applied art.
| Born | 1889 · Davos, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Died | 1943 · Zürich, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Movements | Dada |
| Paint types | Gouache Paint · Oil Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Paper · Canvas · Wood |
| Painting methods | Precise circles and rectangles, limited color palettes, opaque painted shapes, and geometric designs for textiles and three-dimensional objects |
| Common subjects | Nonrepresentational circles, rectangles, color rhythms, marionettes, and abstract painted heads |
| Notable works | Vertical, Horizontal, Square, Rectangular · Composition with Rectangles and Circles · Circle Picture · Head |
| Painted objects | Head (1920) is an oil-painted wood sculpture with beads and wire, not a panel painting |
Sources: MoMA: Vertical, Horizontal, Square, Rectangular, gouache on paper, MoMA: Échelonnement désaxé, gouache on paper, MoMA: Living Abstraction exhibition checklist, oil on canvas, MoMA: Head, oil on wood.
Paint types used
MoMA documents gouache studies on paper and oil paintings on canvas; Head is an oil-painted wooden object.
Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Surface types used
Taeuber-Arp painted gouache on paper and oil on canvas; the wood example is a painted sculpture rather than a flat painting panel.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made from pressed fibers, with weight, sizing, and surface texture controlling moisture tolerance and paint behavior.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Wood
Wood is a natural, porous material whose grain, absorbency, knots, resin, species, and existing finish all influence paint preparation and adhesion.
Painters similar to Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Picabia and Höch also challenged conventions within Dada, while Taeuber-Arp emphasized geometric painting and design.
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French avant-garde painter associated with Dada, known for machine imagery, shifting styles, abstract paintings, and playful provocations.
Hannah Höch
Hannah Höch was a German Dada artist who pioneered critical photomontage and combined printed imagery with watercolor, gouache, and painted abstraction.