Untitled (Abstract Composition) - Sonia Delaunay
Archival giclée
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Description
A 1917 abstract watercolour by Sonia Delaunay, featuring rhythmic concentric arcs and a bold, primary colour palette.
This 1917 watercolour by Sonia Delaunay captures the essence of her exploration into colour and rhythm. Delaunay, a central figure in the development of Orphism, utilised geometric forms and concentric circles to create a sense of movement on the two-dimensional plane. The composition features a series of curved, segmented shapes that radiate from a central, dark, serpentine form. These arcs are painted in a palette of primary and secondary hues, including deep blue, bright orange, and yellow, which contrast against the negative space of the paper.
During this period, Delaunay was deeply engaged with the concept of simultaneity, a theory that suggests the eye perceives colour through its relationship with adjacent tones. The application of the watercolour is fluid, allowing for subtle variations in opacity and texture. The brushwork remains visible, providing a sense of immediacy and spontaneity to the work. Unlike the rigid geometry found in some of her later textile designs, this piece retains a painterly quality that reflects her background in fine art.
The work demonstrates her ability to balance structured form with a sense of kinetic energy. By arranging these circular segments, she suggests a figure in motion or a mechanical rhythm, typical of the avant-garde interests of the early twentieth century. The signature and date in the lower right corner confirm its provenance within her prolific period in Spain and Portugal, where she continued to refine her visual language away from the constraints of the Parisian art scene. This print offers a clear view of her technique, showing how she manipulated light and colour to construct a dynamic visual experience without relying on representational imagery.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Untitled (Abstract Composition) - Sonia Delaunay
Artist Biography
Sonia Delaunay
She was born Sara Stern in 1885 in Hradyzk, Ukraine. At five, her wealthy uncle Henri Terk adopted her and took her to St Petersburg. She grew up with access to art collections, European travel, and a good education. She studied in Karlsruhe, moved to Paris in 1905, and absorbed the Fauvists and Post-Impressionists. After meeting Robert, they developed what Guillaume Apollinaire named Orphism: a variant of Cubism built on pure colour, geometric abstraction, and dynamic movement. Their shared foundation was Chevreul's colour theory of simultaneous contrast, where adjacent colours alter each other's appearance.
In 1913, she sewed the simultaneous dress by hand from scraps of men's tailoring cloth, velvet, silk, and fur. It was designed to match the energy of the foxtrot and tango at Le Bal Bullier, a popular Parisian dance hall. Apollinaire urged readers to visit the Bal Bullier on Thursdays when the Delaunays arrived wearing her creations. The same year, she collaborated with Blaise Cendrars on La Prose du Transsiberien, a two-metre vertical fold-out combining his poem with her abstract colour panels. It is described as the first complete fusion of poetry and painting.
She treated painting, textiles, and fashion as a single practice. She set up a studio in their apartment, opened a fashion house called Sonia, and had her textile line picked up by one of Europe's biggest fabric manufacturers. In 1964, she became the first living woman to have a retrospective at the Louvre. She was seventy-nine. She died in 1979, aged ninety-four.
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